Iranian pharma companies unveil 3 key biotechnology drugs
Iran has cemented its growing success in the field of biotechnology as new products are unveiled to help the country cut its costly imports.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani used a video conference call on Thursday to supervise the launch of three new drugs, believed to be key to the country’s efforts to reach self-sufficiency in the pharmaceutical sector
The official IRNA news agency said that the biotech products included treatments based on blood plasma, namely the human serum albumin (HAS) and Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), developed and commercialized by Medvac, a biopharma company based near Tehran in Karaj.
Before the development of the blood products, Iran had been forced to pay nearly 60 million euroes each year to pharma companies in Germany and Austria to have blood plasma collected in Iran refined and turned into HAS and IVIG vials. The drugs are used in treating complicated blood conditions.
An Iranian-made vaccine used for treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV) was also unveiled on Thursday. The human vaccine, developed by Noyan Biopharma, will rival Gardasil of Merck & Co which is used on a massive scale around the world to prevent cervical cancer.
Another biotech company in the city of Saveh, around 120 kilometers to the southwest of the capital Tehran, announced it had developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient used to manufacture sertraline, a generic anti-depressant, said he report by IRNA.
All the three biotech drugs have been developed and commercialized using funds and support provided by the Iranian government. Some $17 million have been spent on the development of the drugs as well as other biotech projects unveiled on Thursday, said the report, adding that the projects will create 336 permanent jobs in three provinces.
While unveiling the biotech products, Rouhani hailed Iran’s robust progress in the field of biotechnology. He promised biotech firms in Iran would come up with at least four new human vaccines until his administrative government leaves office in August 2021.
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