The pharmaceutical industry in Iran began in its modern form in 1920 when the
Pasteur Institute of Iran was founded. Iran has a well-developed
pharmaceutical production capability, however, the country still relies on imports for raw materials and many specialized drugs. The standards regarding pharmaceutical products are determined and modified by the
Pharmacopeia Council. As of 2019, Iran says it produces 80-90% of the raw materials needed inside the country. These include microplates, omeprazole, tamsulosin hydrochloride, naltrexone base, sitagliptin phosphate, and pioglitazone in various sizes. Iran's
Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) has a mission to provide access to sufficient quantities of safe, effective and high quality medicines that are affordable for the entire population. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has adopted a full generic-based
National Drug Policy (NDP), with local production of
essential drugs and
vaccines as one of the main goals. Although over 85 percent of the population use an insurance system to reimburse their drug expenses, due to the severe decline in Iranian economy, in 2018 the government heavily subsidized pharmaceutical production/importation in order to increase affordability of medicines. This tended also to increase overconsumption, overprescription and misuse of drugs, much like the abuse of pharmaceutical
opioids in Iran such as the heavily prescribed
codeine for moderate to severe pain. The regulatory environment of the country is rather strict on the import of drugs and pharmaceuticals towards companies that intend to enter into the market for the first time. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education is the main stakeholder of pharmaceutical affairs in the country. In 2022, the Iranian government under
Ebrahim Raisi halted the subsidies for the production of food and medicine, forcing producers to pay seven times more for the import of raw materials, thereby crippling domestic production of medicines. in 2022, the
Iranian Labour News Agency quoted Bahram Daraei, the regime’s head of the Iranian food and drug organization, as saying that the price increase of imported drugs was up to 6 times its original cost "and domestically produced drugs increased in price by 30 to 100 percent, depending on the amount of raw material supply currency". Both
Iranian media and government officials have predicted that drug prices will continue to climb up to 700 percent. The rising medical costs for Iranian consumers has pushed thousands of those in need of treatment to the brink of bankruptcy.
Melphalan and
Thiotepa (
chemotherapy),
Factor 8 (
haemophilia),
Interferon Beta and Diphosel (
Multiple Sclerosis). Iran's pharmaceutical market is estimated to be worth $1.87 billion (2008), $2.31 billion (2009), $3.26 billion (2011), $3,57 billion (2013) and $3.65bn by 2013 (projected). The drug market in Iran is heavily in favour of
generic medicines, which contributed US$1.23bn to the total in 2009, with patented drugs at US$817mn and
OTC medicines at US$262mn. The market share of local production (value-wise) has declined from 85.2% to 63.4% over the past 8 (Iranian) years (2009). In this period the value of importation has jumped from 14.8% to 36.6%.
The government imposes 90% tariff on the import of drugs. In 2009, 1.8 million units of pharmaceutical products worth $1.2 billion were imported into Iran. As of 2015, Iran's share of global
biotechnology products market is half a billion US dollar. In 2010, 50% of raw materials and chemicals used in the drug manufacturing sector were imported. In 2019, Iranian companies were able to produce 80-90% of the raw materials needed inside the country. Iran is the first country in the East Mediterranean region which has the technical and scientific capability to export vaccines to various world countries. Iran will gain self-sufficiency in vaccine production by 2014. As of 2019, Iran produced 8 out of the 18 main vaccines for humans. with five that have received emergency use authorization (
COVIran Barekat,
Pasteurcovac,
FAKHRAVAC,
COVAX-19 and
Razi Cov Pars). The new drugs launched in Iran for the treatment of
MS include an
interferon beta-1b by
CinnaGen. Iranian researchers have developed 41 types of anti-cancer medications, overcoming the need for importing pricey
cancer drugs from abroad (2011). According to the
Food and Drug Administration in 2014, trade in counterfeit commercial drugs has become more lucrative than dealing in illegal narcotics. Most of which come from
Pakistan. Drugs for sexual enhancement, weight control, aesthetics, height enhancement, hair growth and body building are among the more prevalent
fake drugs on the market.
Innovation In recent years several drugmakers are gradually developing the ability to innovate, away from
generic drugs production itself. only 100-300 of which are being used in
pharmaceutical industries at present. Iran has 80 percent of the world medicinal herbs. Due to lack of required technology, they are exported raw and in limited quantities to foreign markets. The leading pharmaceuticals company is
Darou Pakhsh, which is majority-owned by the
Social Security Organization. The company manufactures, distributes, imports and exports finished products and pharmaceutical raw materials.
Darou Pakhsh has an annual turnover of US$400m and claims to have the largest research and development operation of any Iranian drug firm. The company formed a
plasmapheresis joint venture with a German medical firm, Biotest AG, in early 2004. The
Barkat Pharmaceutical Group is a major pharmaceutical holding that supplied 14% of the pharmaceutical market of Iran in 2016. Iranian pharmaceutical manufacturers are reported to be disadvantaged by the government's poor
intellectual property protection regime and lack of
foreign direct investment. In 2009, approximately $3.1 billion worth of drugs and medical products were consumed in Iran. This shows an 80% increase from 3 years ago. Iran's per capita consumption is $21, as opposed to the global average of $94 because
Iran subsidizes heavily its medical and pharmaceutical industry. In 2009, Iran exported $74 million worth of "medical products" to countries such as
Iraq,
Afghanistan and
Russia.
U.S. sanctions against Iran do not apply to medical equipment or pharmaceuticals. There are over 100 Iranian companies representing the international suppliers in this market. ==See also==