TEHRAN – Russian Health Minister Mikhail Morashko has announced his country's willingness to expand bilateral relations with Iran in the pharmaceuticals sector, pointing to Iran’s advancement in producing medicine domestically.

In an interview on Tuesday, Morashko noted that Iranians, in somewhat similar circumstances, have made great strides in the production of pharmaceutical products, including high-tech ones.

Moscow-Tehran bilateral contacts in the field of pharmaceutical cooperation are established on a regular basis and will continue, he said, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

In order to examine the development of cooperation between the two countries in the field of health, medicine, and medical equipment, the Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, also met with Russian Deputy Health Minister, Sergey Glagolev.

In this meeting, Jalali emphasized the need to enhance joint cooperation, while pointing to the good and constructive cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Referring to Iran's progress in the field of health and medical equipment, Glagolev called for increased interaction in the health sector, especially within the Eurasian Economic Union, and suggested setting up a communication task force to follow up on the issues.

The import of pharmaceuticals has declined in Iran by 91 percent, which shows the capability of the country’s pharmaceutical industry, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said on October 11.

Today, all medicine used in the treatment of coronavirus are produced by domestic manufacturers, and if we wanted to import all the items, there would be a high exchange rate, he further stated, emphasizing that COVID-19 vaccine development indicates the pharmaceutical industry’s capability.

In 2018, 67 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to produce drugs in Iran were made locally.

A total of 227 knowledge-based firms are supplying medical equipment for health centers across the country, according to the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

Knowledge-based companies can produce any medicine effective in countering coronavirus or approved by the scientific committee within a week to 10 days, Sourena Sattari, vice president for science and technology, said.

In January 2021, the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, unveiled three raw pharmaceuticals and a new anti-coronavirus drug called Ivermectin, which had been previously imported.

Also, Iran is capable of production of biopharmaceuticals, which has so far reached 28 items, making Iran the third leading country in Asia.

FB/MG