Iranian knowledge-based enterprises have made such great progress in the biotechnology, particularly in the medical sector, that not only have met the domestic demands, but also export biopharmaceuticals to other countries, said Mostafa Qanei, the secretary of Biotechnology Development Headquarter at the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology.
He noted that the Iranian biopharmaceuticals are being exported to major customers like Russia, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey, adding that plans are underway to transfer the Iranian biopharmaceuticals technology to Argentina.
The biotechnological products made in Iran are worth $1.2 billion, Qanei added, saying efforts are underway to increase that amount with proper planning.
According to the official, biotechnology-related products make up 50 percent of the Iranian knowledge-based companies’ earnings, and 60 percent of the total export of goods produced by those companies.
He finally described biotechnology as a value-creating business, saying it could boost economy in a broad range of fields, such as algae production, bio-agriculture, and biofuels technology.
Biotechnology is known as one of the state-of-the-art technologies in 21st century and is among the seven key industries which will determine the socioeconomic destiny of communities in the coming decades.
According to the data released by the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, Iran ranked 14th in the world in 2015 in terms of the number of articles published in the field of biotechnology in indexed journals.
Also, Iran’s share of biotechnology articles in 2015 as compared to regional countries and the world is 27.22% and 1.27%, respectively.
The Iranian government plans to use biotechnology to meet the country’s strategic demands for food, public health, environment, and energy, while exploiting the technology’s capabilities as a green industry for environmental protection and restoration.
