The pharmaceutical industry is enjoying a steady market after the prices were reduced, import of low-quality products banned, and almost all drugs were made available, IRNA reported.
“Adopting the revolutionary parallel import policy proved effective in lowering the prices of medicine to a reasonable level,” said Dr. Rasoul Dinarvand, head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Parallel import (sometimes referred to as gray market) refers to import of non-counterfeit products into a market and selling them without the consent of the owner of the trademark in that market. Parallel import of pharmaceuticals reduces price of medicine by creating competition.
Dinarvand noted that currently there are all sorts of pharmaceutical products in the Iranian market except for few reported cases of extremely rare drugs that occasionally go out of production, “which could happen anywhere across the world.”
The head of FDA stressed that ensuring food security is the association’s gravest task, adding that the outcome of certain fundamental policies adopted by the FDA such as establishing trade transparency, promoting competition, and supporting domestic production will be more tangible in the course of the current year (began March 21) and the next.
Several productive measures were also taken in the medical device industry including removing intermediaries and implementing price controls. That will, in turn, ensure that high-quality devices of various brands are available and encourage domestic production.
Noting that cooperation between the food department of FDA and Iranian National Standards Organization has yielded productive results, Dinarvand called on the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) to set up a control system for drugs and related raw materials in addition to food.
Finally, he referred to earlier restrictions on the import of nutritional supplements prescribed by Hassan Hashemi, the minister of health and medical education, and clarified that “the import of low-quality products were severely restricted, but the import of essential products like medicines which are not manufactured here will continue”.
