TEHRAN - The secretary general of the Biotechnology Development Headquarters has said about $1.8 billion have been saved as a result of biotechnological activities in the field of medicine.

“Efforts in the ecosystem of technology and innovation are so great that every year we see a decrease in spending foreign exchange and an increase in domestic production in the field of medicine and treatment,’ ISNA quoted Mostafa Qanei as saying.

Products that have been manufactured with the help of indigenized biotechnology have met domestic needs, he added.

“Currently, about 800 knowledge-based companies are operating in the field of biotechnology, and we are trying to increase this number qualitatively and quantitatively by increasing support,” Qanei highlighted.

In January, Qanei said the U.S. sanctions have impeded the country’s ability to acquire a targeted 3 percent share of the global biotechnology market.

Iran is an advanced and developed country in the field of biotechnology and home to outstanding technologists, he added.

“We could easily increase Iran’s share of the global biological market to three percent,” he said.

Considering that Iran has 1 percent of the world’s population, we aimed to gain 3 percent of the world’s biotechnology market, but the sanctions did not allow us to become a good actor in the field of biotechnology at the international level.

The Secretary of Biotechnology Development Headquarters considered financial exchanges to be the main problem in this field.

“In recent years, we have tried to realize this plan, and technologists and knowledge-based companies have also taken steps in this direction, and good successes have been achieved, but we are far from reaching the desired point,” he noted.

Currently, around 30 types of biotech medicines are produced in the country in addition to kits, vaccines, and blood products. Also, 80 percent of biotechnology pharmaceutical items are domestically produced.

Biotechnology today is widespread in all fields and is no longer limited to biomedical drugs so it has replaced injured limbs.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology is set to achieve a 3 percent share of the global biotechnology market.

In May 2021, the Biotechnology Development Council launched 129 production projects with the aim of saving up to $1.44 billion in foreign currency.

Iran is 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, Qanei 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.

MG