Iran opens vaccine production line
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated the first production line for influenza vaccine, making Iran the sixth country in the world to master the technology Press TV reports.
During a ceremony at Tehran™s Pardisan Park, 12 other indigenous medicines, most of which are used to fight rare diseases like cancer, were also unveiled.
Khashayar Karimian, a drug manufacturer present at the unveiling ceremony told Press TV, œWe have manufactured the API [Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients] for nine different anti-cancer drugs. Three of them are old drugs which are still being extensively used, Cytarabine, Gemcytabine and Capacitabine. But the rest are new drugs which are targeted cancer therapy drugs. In other words, they have been designed with specifications of the cancer cells.”
The Islamic Republic has managed to launch the projects as many Iranian patients who suffer from rare diseases are in dire need of vital medicines as a result of the US-engineered sanctions against the country.
In this regard, Karimian told Press TV, œIf the government was to import these drugs in adequate quantities to satisfy all the cancer-hit population, at least, we would have to invest USD 250 million per year, just for these nine drugs.”
Despite anti-Iran sanctions, the country has made great progress in many areas including medicine, research, nanotechnology, biotechnology and aerospace engineering, ranking first in science production in the Middle East.
The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and European Union using that claim as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions against Tehran.
Iran has categorically rejected the allegation, stressing that as a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
MKA/HGH/SS
Republished with permission from: Press TV
Source: http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/iran-opens-vaccine-production-line/50278/
