During a ceremony at Eshtehard Industrial Town in Alborz Province on Tuesday morning, four Iranian-produced drugs for cancer and diabetes treatment were unveiled.
The anti-cancer drugs included the highly important and expensive Regorafenib and Sorafenib, while Empagliflozin and Dapagliflozin were unveiled for the treatment of diabetic patients.
Regorafenib, under the trade name chemotherapy drug Stivarga, was first developed by Germany in 2012 for treatment of colorectal cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and liver cancer.
Iranian researchers managed to obtain the highly complex know-how for the production of this pricey drug after seven years of relentless research and experiment. A 28-tablet pack of Regorafenib costs $5,870 on the global market. The Iranian version is sold at only 5% of the value of the German product.
Sorafenib, known by its brand name Nexavar, is used to treat kidney, liver, and thyroid cancer. The product was produced only by Germany and the US until now. The Iranian version of the product is sold at less than one-tenth of its price on the global market, which is as high as $4,880.
Empagliflozin, sold under the trade name Jardiance, is used to treat type 2 diabetes. Iran is now the third producer of the medication, after Germany and the US.
Dapagliflozin, sold under the brand name Farxiga, is also used to treat type 2 diabetes. Iran managed to obtain the technology to produce the medication after the UK.
It is predicted that the two Iranian anti-cancer drugs would potentially generate $1 billion worth of revenues in the country.
- source : Mehrnews
