A domestically produced Hepatitis C drug will be available in the market as of next week.
Local knowledge-based companies successfully produced Sofosbuvir drug for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C and each tablet will cost $9.1, said Reza Malekzadeh, deputy minister of research at the Ministry of Health, in a meeting of heads of knowledge-based companies.
Sofosbuvir was previously imported at a cost of $100 for each tablet, reports IRNA.
Iran has been successful in reducing Hepatitis diseases. Hepatitis B has declined from 7% to 2%, and the rate of Hepatitis C has dropped to below 0.5%.
Malekzadeh said by providing support to knowledge-based companies, new drugs could be produced locally, especially for diseases such as cancer, at cheaper rates and on par with global standards.
While 90% of raw materials for pharmaceutical production are imported, however, this should not be a matter of concern since even highly industrialized countries import 60% of the raw materials for drugs production from countries such as India or China.
In Iran, production of raw materials for the local pharmaceutical industry has been initiated to reduce dependency on imports. Production of two other drug compounds for treatment of Hepatitis C is in the laboratory stage and will shortly be released in the market, he said
