Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 6 / Trend M. Moezzi /
Starting on August 10, Iran will unveil seven new domestically produced medications.
Health and Medical Education Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi told reporters that two of the medicines are bio-tech drugs and five are extremely expensive medicines used for treating cancer, the Mehr news agency reports.
One of the medications is Herceptin, which is used to treat breast cancer.
Every year, 7,000 new cases of breast cancer are reported in Iran, and given the medication's high price, a great deal of foreign currency was spent on acquiring it, Dastjerdi said.
After Iran begins producing Herceptin, it will cost 40 percent less than its foreign-made analogue.
In other health-related news, the Health Minister said with the start of the coming school year, all children 6 to 12 years old will have their teeth varnished with fluoride. Treating teeth with the fluoride paste reduces from cavities 50 to 68 percent.
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