Deputy President:

Sanctions caused Iran dialysis industry to thrive

A senior Iranian government official says the country has become a manufacturer of devices needed for new dialysis methods mainly because foreigners refused to supply them to Iran under a harsh regime of American sanctions imposed on the country.

News ID: 449301

Date: 26 February 2020 - 17:26

RNA - Sorena Sattari, who serves as deputy president for science and technology, said on Tuesday that peritoneal dialysis, a cost-effective method of dialysis which can be managed at home, is no longer a dream for Iranian patients suffering from renal problems.

Sattari made the comments while opening a plant for manufacturing peritoneal dialysis machines and associated devices in the second largest city of Mashhad, in northern Iran.

He said it was the American sanctions that made it possible for Iran to introduce new home-made devices for treatment of kidney disease.

“This is the restrictions that brought us creativity and all these innovations are a product of the sanctions,” said Sattari.

Samen Pharmaceutical Co. is the Iranian company seeking to offer lower-cost peritoneal dialysis, a method in which the lining of the abdomen is utilized to filter waste from the blood.

Peritoneal dialysis machines are small and can be administered at home and during travel.

Samen’s CEO said that introducing the method in Iran would lower the costs of treatment for patients suffering from kidney failure by more than third.

Majid Tabasi said on Tuesday that Iran used to spend nearly $10 million each year to import machines needed for peritoneal dialysis.

Tabasi said his company, which is run by a major endowment fund in Mashhad, obtained the expertise for manufacturing the devices needed for the practice after foreign companies refused to supply them due to the American sanctions.

Iran has been thriving in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector over the past few years with numerous companies now active in production of various medicines and devices that have hit the international markets.

Sattari, the Iranian deputy president, said that Iran is now third in Asia in terms of activity in biotechnology sector with 600 companies exclusively working in the field.

He also said that Iranian companies had created a unique position for the country in the Persian Gulf region by producing 22 biotechnology medicines.

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