Official: Domestic knowledge, capabilities will help Iran survive drug sanctions
Knowledge, equipment and capacity of the domestic pharmaceutical industry are advanced enough to help Iran easily survive under the present difficult circumstances despite the cruel unilateral US sanctions, said the head of the Iranian Human Pharmaceutical Industry Owners Syndicate.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Fourth International Exhibition on Pharmaceuticals and Related Industries (Iran Pharma 2018) in Tehran on Monday, Ahmad Sheibani added throughout history, pharmaceuticals have always been excluded from the list of sanctions, IRNA reported.
Now, however, unfortunately Iran’s pharmaceutical industry is faced with such a problem, he regretted.
Sheibani said they falsely claim that they have not sanctioned pharmaceuticals exports to Iran, adding, however, over the past few months, some foreign companies with, trade cooperation backgrounds of 40 years, have explicitly announced that they will refrain from selling Iranian drug companies even one gram of raw materials.
He underlined that Iran can use this tough situation as an opportunity to make progress.
Iran meets 97 percent of its pharmaceutical needs domestically, Sheibani said, assuaging people’s concerns over the probability of a medication shortage in the future.
“Iranian pharmaceutical industry, being backed by the government of the country, will give a strong response to those who have imposed the sanctions and the ones who are not willing to see our development.”
Expressing satisfaction with the rapid development and significant growth of Iran’s pharmaceutical industry over the past 40 years after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said prior to the Islamic Revolution domestic production could meet only 25 percent of the country’s needs to medications. “This comes as at present, the figure has reached 97 percent as 100 drug production factories are operating in the country.”
He urged domestic industrialists in pharmaceutical sector to continue their efforts as the present condition under the US sanctions will fail to be more difficult than the one Iranians lived and worked in during the eight years of the Iraqi-imposed war during 1980-88.
“We do not require those foreign companies that used to sell us raw materials for years but now don’t. Our industrialists and academics can easily synthetize and produce pharmaceuticals in the country. Currently, 50 percent of the raw materials [for drug production] and anti-biotics are produced domestically which shows that the result of the sanctions and restrictions [on Iran] have been positive.”
A total of 360 foreign and domestic companies have taken part in Iran Pharma 2018 which will be open to the public until September 26.