According to Iraf News Agency, Mahmoud Najafi-Arab, head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said on Wednesday (December 31) at a meeting regarding reviewing opportunities and challenges in developing the pharmaceutical and medical equipment value chain that; Iran urgently needs a fundamental transformation in its pharmaceutical system, noting that countries such as Turkey have moved ahead in the industry.
“We truly need a serious transformation in the country’s pharmaceutical system. Upstream policy documents must be revised, and we must move toward branding,” he said.
Pharmaceutical exports require investment, not slogans
Referring to the challenges of expanding domestic and foreign markets, Najafi-Arab described exports as an endeavor that requires heavy investment, expertise, and a deep understanding of target markets. “Any product you want to export requires investment in destination countries, benchmarking, and precise market knowledge,” he said.
Citing his personal experience exporting medicines to Russia, he explained: “We established an office there and registered around 16 to 17 medicines. But registration is only the first step; gaining market share is the next—and much more difficult—stage.”
Afghanistan: a case of losing a market due to unfair competition
The head of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce pointed to Afghanistan as an example, saying: “A market that once belonged to Iran by nearly 70 percent was lost due to unhealthy domestic competition, price undercutting, and, on the other hand, the counterfeit production of Iranian brands in Pakistan.”
Expressing concern over the current state of Iran’s pharmaceutical industry, he added: “With small and fragmented companies, our pharmaceutical sector can neither play a meaningful role in export development nor compete effectively. What exists is not growth-driven competition, but in practice an anti-competitive situation.”
Najafi-Arab said the way forward lies in consolidation and scaling up companies, proposing facilitative measures such as tax incentives to encourage mergers. “If full mergers are not possible, at least 10 to 15 companies should come together to establish a specialized export management company (EMC),” he suggested.
CIS and Eurasia: the biggest opportunities ahead
In conclusion, Najafi-Arab described the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian region as the greatest opportunities for Iran’s pharmaceutical industry, saying: “Russia today represents a very major opportunity for us, and Eurasia as a whole is an extremely valuable prospect.”
