TEHRAN - The 10th IranPharma Exhibition, the largest specialized pharmaceutical event in Iran, will take place in Tehran from September 24 to 26, bringing together 743 companies from 28 countries.

With the theme “Sustainability, Resilience, and Innovation,” the exhibition is hosted by the Iranian Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Industries at the Grand Musalla in Tehran.

The event attracts a wide range of domestic and international companies, associations, and related organizations.

It provides a platform for fostering technological collaboration, showcasing export capabilities, attracting investment in innovative areas, and professional networking.

Side events such as expert panels, business meetings, book exhibitions, and student tours attract significant attention each year.

The issue of medicine and medical equipment production and self-sufficiency in these areas is one of the government's priorities, Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi has said.

Medicine and medical equipment are two important areas related to people's health, he said, adding: “We are trying to reach self-sufficiency for the supply of medicine and medical equipment,” IRNA reported.

On January 13, the head of Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters said that medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made, IRNA quoted Abdolreza Yaqoubzadeh as saying.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment, such as anesthesia machines and other equipment, are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country, he added.

Yaqoubzadeh went on to say that the country’s need for medical equipment production is three to four billion dollars per year, some one billion dollars of which is imported.

Some 600 medical equipment companies are active in the country, producing around 99 percent of the medicine supplied to the domestic market.

Medical equipment manufacturers in the country produce and supply over 10,000 types of medical equipment to domestic and foreign markets. Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products.