TEHRAN – The production of biopharmaceuticals, thanks to the efforts of knowledge-based companies, has reached 28 items, making Iran the third leading country in Asia, IRIB reported on Wednesday.

A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biologic medical product, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semi synthesized from biological sources. 

Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, they include vaccines, whole blood, blood components, allergenic, somatic cells, gene therapies, tissues, recombinant therapeutic protein, and living medicines used in cell therapy.

In the world today, biomedicine has attracted the attention of many governments and investors due to its strategic position and great added value. In Iran, the value-added of biomedical production after the field of information technology services has the highest value-added. Accordingly, those in charge of this field are trying to provide the ground for growth and development.

Iran is one of the countries that has made great efforts in the field of medicine to free itself from the struggle to supply medicine and bypass sanctions and be able to respond to its local needs by relying on knowledge-based companies. One of these areas is the production of biopharmaceuticals, which has grown to 28 items.

12th in biotechnology

Iran is also ranked 12th in the world and first in West Asia in terms of biotechnology, as 9.5 percent of the income of knowledge-based companies and more than 60 percent of their exports are related to biotechnology.

Foreign exchange savings of $1 billion per year by producing 22 biopharmaceuticals, gaining the first rank in biotechnology products and vaccines in West Asia, and the presence among the top five biotechnology producers in Asia are among the country’s achievements, Mostafa Ghanei, secretary of the biotechnology development office of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, said in October 2020.

So far, 27 biotechnology medicines, 12 vaccine projects, 90 pharmaceutical raw materials, and 55 projects in agriculture and food security have been implemented in order to gain a 3 percent market share and biotechnology assistance to the development of the economy, he explained.

Some 8 major companies are responsible for managing the country's 117 priority products in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical raw materials, vaccines, probiotics, equipment, and chemical drugs, he emphasized.

FB/MG