TEHRAN – The Danish ambassador to Tehran has called pharmaceutical industry the “backbone” of bilateral trade between Iran and Denmark.

“Our pharmaceutical exports has constituted around 48 percent of the total Danish exports so far this year,” Danny Annan said, pointing out the booming exports to Iran from Denmark after the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the nuclear deal – in January 2016.

“In the first 9 months of 2016, there was an increase of 68 percent in exports to Iran and should the trend continues by the end of this year the total exports to Iran can reach 270 million Euros,” he noted, addressing a seminar titled “Pharmaceutical and IP Protection” in Tehran on Tuesday.

He went on to say that Iran’s Intellectual Property Center and Danish Patent and Trademark Office have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to protect and promote innovative activates.

On academic relations, the diplomat noted close cooperation is being developed between the two countries’ universities in the area of “archaeology, forestry and neurology.”
On Friday, Annan said, an MOU was signed in Denmark for closer cooperation between Iranian and Danish entities in neurology.

He also called “investment” another strategy that can “mutually benefit” both countries.  

For instance, Novo Nordisk, a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company, inked an agreement with Iran, prior to the lifting of the sanctions, through which the company invested a total of $80 million in pharmaceutical projects in Iran.

He went on to say that Denmark owes its strong economy to “ideas” and “innovations” that require proper protection.

Reinstating the importance of properly protecting Intellectual Property Rights, the ambassador noted lack of protection in some areas has made European companies feel hesitant about transferring technology to Iran due to the “risk of counterfeit and copying.”

 To further improve trade with less worries, he asked Iranian government organizations to improve industrial data protection.

He held out much hope that the assembly will lay the foundation for a closer cooperation between the two countries in pharmaceutical sector.  

The Pharmaceutical and IP Protection conference was organized by Iran’s Food and Drug Administration affiliated with the Ministry of Health, The Royal Danish Embassy in Tehran and the Danish Association of Pharmaceutical Industry with the focus on patent and trademark protection and opportunities of bilateral cooperation between Iran and Denmark within the pharmaceutical field.