Azerbaijan, Baku, July 20/ Trend N. Umid/
Thalassemia-treating drug production has been stopped by Iranian drug companies four months ago, head of the Iranian Thalassaemia Society, Mohammad Reza Mashhadi said, Mehr news agency reported.
Domestic pharmaceutical companies are fulfilling their obligations just by 20 to 30 per cent, he said.
He warned about the negative effects of drug lack for patients, the report said.
"For example sometimes just 30 vials of medicine in a month are prescribed for treatment of patients with thalassemia, whereas 100 vials are needed for the treatment." Mashhadi said.
Some 20,000 Iranians suffer from thalassemia.
Iran experiences certain difficulties with drug shortages in the country, largely because of the international sanctions imposed on Iran, due to its disputed nuclear program.
Despite the fact that the sanctions do not directly target the medical supplies and food, many companies refuse to deal with Iran, fearing the impact of the sanctions.
Due to western-led sanctions, only a handful of international banks are willing to transfer currencies on behalf of Iran to purchase medicine, which is leading to a shortage of imported drugs.