TEHRAN – An Iranian knowledge-based pharmaceutical company will establish a biotech factory which is said to be one of the most advanced biotech factories in the country, Mehr reported on Saturday.

The company has been producing recombinant proteins and biosimilar medicine since the Iranian calendar year 1395 (March 2016-March 2017).

Measuring 3500 hetares in area, the factory is composed of different sections including biotech product line, research, and development (R & D), vial adapter, quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA), the company manager Shima Sardab said.

The company aims to transfer technological knowledge to Iran and produce homegrown medicines, she said.

The factory’s main focus would be on monoclonal antibodies in immunotherapy, which is a crucial treatment in the body’s immunity system, she added.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAb or moAb) are antibodies that are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies can have a monovalent affinity, in that they bind to the same epitope (the part of an antigen that is recognized by the antibody).

The blood pressure medication would be the first product of the factory, which will be available at the national market, she said.

The innovation and prosperity fund supports the factory’s products to be available in the Iranian market and it can be exported to other countries in the near future, she said.

In February 2019, secretary of biotech development center (BioDC) at science and technology vice-presidency Mostafa Qanei said that there are 146 biopharmaceuticals in the global market, out of which, 22 items are available in Iran which are monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins.

He said that the domestically manufacturing of biotechnology products has so far saved one billion dollars for the country.

Previously in October 2018, the biotech development center (BioDC) announced that medicine is on top of the list of exports of biotechnology products in Iran.

Biotechnology in medicine

According to economywatch.com, the benefits of biotechnology in medicine are without doubt staggering. Although many exciting developments have taken place in the past few years, with continuing research, it is expected that more and more revolutionary procedures, substances, and devices will be developed to improve and enhance human life. When it comes to biotechnology in medicine, there are many different things that have already been discovered and even more on the near horizon.

For instance, today’s biotechnology is now being used to develop much-needed vaccines, new drugs to combat tough illnesses, creating xenotransplant organs, developing a variety of nanomedical diagnostic techniques, and even determining origins of disease.

SB/MQ/MG