Iran plans to promote the quality of domestically manufactured medicines to help increase pharmaceutical exports, said Dr. Farzad Peiravanian, vice-president of planning at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“In cooperation with the pharmaceutical syndicates and manufacturers, it is planned to raise exports from $200 million last year to $500 million this year,” he said, quoted by IRNA.
The previous year saw a decline in medical imports from $1.4 billion (2013) to $1 billion in 2014. Simultaneously, production in the pharmaceutical sector increased to $11.4 billion in 2014. It is estimated that this year, the figure will reach $12.5 billion.
In line with the objectives to improve further the quality of medical products, the FDA is making efforts to join the Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme, two international instruments between countries and pharmaceutical inspection authorities, to improve cooperation in the field of Good Manufacturing Practices between regulatory authorities and the pharmaceutical industry.
“This will facilitate export of Iranian medicine on a global scale,” Peiravanian said. The FDA has issued directives to the pharmaceutical sector in this regard. Currently, “the FDA has grouped the pharmaceutical companies into A, B and C categories and only those fulfilling quality standards will be able to venture in the international market,” he said.
The FDA also monitors Post-Marketing Quality Control (PMQC) by which it oversees the production of medicines from an early stage in factories. “Last year, 200 medicines were inspected, of which 12 did not meet the standard.” Such products are immediately withdrawn from the market and manufacturers are taken to task.
Further, the FDA assists firms in certification of their products by facilitating access and inspection. All these measures will help achieve the goal to have a share in the international market as Iran is already a regional hub in medical production,” he said.
There are no Chinese medicines in the domestic market, and the few Indian products available have international certificates.
