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Iran exports $580 million worth of pharmaceuticals annually

Business Materials 16 January 2013 08:20 (UTC +04:00)
Iran annually exports some $580 million worth of pharmaceuticals, ranking 53rd in the world in this regard, IRNA quoted Iranian deputy health minister, Mostafa Qanei, as saying.
Iran exports $580 million worth of pharmaceuticals annually

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 15 / Trend F.Mehdi/

Iran annually exports some $580 million worth of pharmaceuticals, ranking 53rd in the world in this regard, IRNA quoted Iranian deputy health minister, Mostafa Qanei, as saying.

About 90 percent of needed medicine can be produced domestically, he said, adding that nearly 30 biological drugs are produced in the country.

This is while Iranian health ministry officials are keen to import some 28 types of medications including capsules, solutions and injectable drugs from Indian suppliers, according to a report by the Mumbai-based portal on India's pharmaceutical industry, Pharmabiz.

Possible deals would follow a trip last month by a 26- member Indian delegation to the Iranian capital, Tehran, aimed at exploring opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector, Pharmabiz said.

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, Rasoul Khazari, a member of the Iranian parliament's health committee, said in November. He called on authorities to act to prevent a crisis.

Costs of medical equipment have also soared, rising an average of 245 percent due to the decline in the value of Iran's national currency, Hossein-Ali Shahriari, the health committee's head, said Nov. 10, 2012.

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