Sanofi signed a memorandum of cooperation with Iran’s government aimed at boosting its presence in the country, the French drugmaker said last week.
The agreement was signed during the visit of President Hassan Rouhani to Paris where France and Iran agreed to a series of transactions with several French firms.
Medicines were an exception in the nuclear sanctions imposed on Iran. Yet shipping drugs into the country was still difficult, Reuters reported. Sanofi said in statement it would consider expanding partnerships with local manufacturers to enhance the sharing of its expertise in industrial quality standards and increase the transfer of pharmaceutical production technology and know-how.
The company will also collaborate with Iran’s Ministry of Health on programs for prevention and control of chronic and non-communicable diseases as well as on managing related risk factors, such as diabetes.
Sanofi said 55% of its sales in Iran were from products manufactured locally. The French pharmaceutical company will compete in Iran with pharmaceutical firms such as Denmark’s Novo Nordisk and Japan’s Takeda as well as with Indian generics maker Cipla.
