Iran plans to produce 15 new vaccines

"Production of 15 new types of vaccine is on (our) agenda and we should acquire the technical know-how (to produce them) in three years," Famil Qadakchi said in a press conference in Tehran. He also announced that Razi Institute can now produce 95% of the country's needs to cattle vaccines, 60% of poultry's vaccines and 5 types of strategic vaccines for humans. Iran has taken wide strides in science and technology, particularly in medical and medicinal fields, in recent years. Head of Iran's Pasteur Institute Mostafa Qaneyee had announced in 2011 that the institute plans to produce human vaccines for rabies and hemophilia diseases. "The center (Pasteur Institute), in cooperation with its affiliated knowledge-based companies, has started a project to produce rabies and hemophilia human vaccines," Qaneyee told FNA at the time. He expressed the hope that his institute would start mass-production of the vaccines within the next 2-3 years, adding that the products will be sold not only in domestic, but also in foreign markets. Also, Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi had boasted the country's astonishing progress in producing medical tools, equipment and drugs, saying that Iran ranks first in synthesizing different drugs and medications in the region. "Iran certainly ranks first in the region in producing medical equipment and medicine and those who stand behind us cannot be compared with Iran at all," Vahid Dastjerdi said addressing the inaugural ceremony of an international exhibition on medical, dentistry and laboratory equipments in Tehran in 2011. The minister further mentioned that Iran exports medical tools and equipment worth $12bln each year and produces 96% of its medical needs, adding that the country also produces 70% of its needed pharmaceutical raw materials domestically.