Iran produces 30 types of new-formula drugs

Iranian Health Minister Mohammad Hassan Tariqat Monfared underlined the country's ability to produce different hi-tech medicines, and said Iran has synthesized 30 types of new-formula drugs. "There are over 100 new-formula drugs in the world and nearly 30 of them have been produced in Iran," Tariqat Monfared told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. "The technological know-how for manufacturing these drugs is merely owned by a number of countries and fortunately, Iran has also attained this know-how," he added. Iran has taken wide strides in science and technology, particularly in medical and medicinal fields, in recent years. Earlier this month, an Iranian official announced that the country has gained self-sufficiency in producing blood factor 7 products - used to treat hemophilia disease- and MS drugs, adding that Iran has also managed to produce a new type of hi-tech anti-cancer drug and the raw material for penicillin G. "The production line of a new hi-tech anti-cancer drug named Docetaxel will be inaugurated in Iran next Saturday which has applications in treating different types of cancer," Deputy Head of Iran's Food and Drug Organization Shams Ali Rezazadeh told FNA. He also announced Iran's self-sufficiency in the production of factor 7 and the medicines needed for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. "The raw material for penicillin G is also being mass-produced for the first time in the country," Rezazadeh said. In August 2012, former Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi boasted the country's astonishing progress in producing medical tools, equipment and drugs, and said Iran stands 12 in the world ranking of biomedicine production. "Iran ranks 1st in the region, 4th in Asia and 12th in the world in producing biological drugs," Vahid Dastjerdi said in a ceremony in Tehran at the time to unveil 8 new types of hi-tech medicines used for treating various kinds of diseases. She also announced that the global exports value of biomedicine industry stands at $1,000bln, and Iran can have a large share of this figure.