By  Trend

The head of the Syndicate of Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries said the country’s medicine production might suffer a major setback in the near future if the government does not increase its support for pharmaceuticals and related industries.

"The government owes 4,000 billion rials to the pharmaceutical industry," Faramarz Ekhteraei told ILNA.

Criticizing the government for failing to address the problems of the medicine industry and paying its heavy debts to the pharmaceutical firms in Iran, he said, "If the debts are not immediately paid, there will be no production".

"The main problem that we are facing today is our financial claims from the government," the official said.

Ekhteraei called on the government to pay its dues and revive the failing industry.

Recently, a member of Parliament Health and Treatment Commission said there were 60 major pharmaceutical firms in Iran and the government owes huge debts to most of these companies as well as insurances.

In recent years, Iranian private companies have started production of biological pharmaceuticals. The country has also a relatively advanced herbal medical basis thanks to its vast floral resources.

The pharmaceutical industry is regulated by the government, where production and importation of drugs is heavily subsidized.