Iranian, Russian Firms Sign Deal to Localize Production of Flu Vaccine
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Major Iranian and Russian pharmaceutical manufacturers signed an agreement in a bid to localize production of an influenza vaccine in the Islamic Republic.
Tehran and Moscow inked a deal whereby Iran’s Sobhan Recombinant Protein firm and Russia’s Petrovax company will jointly produce the Russian-developed 'Grippol Plus' flu vaccine in Iran, Petrovax President Yelena Arhangelskaya told Sputnik on Sunday.
"We made the first delivery of 'Grippol Plus' to Iran in 2015 and got positive reviews from Iran's Ministry of Health and the relevant medical specialists. After that we got an offer from Iranian company Sobhan Recombinant Protein for the transfer of technology to produce 'Grippol Plus'," he said.
"We accepted the offer, and according to the terms of our agreement, over the next three years there will be a gradual transfer of technology across the production cycle of the vaccine," Arhangelskaya explained.
The president of Petrovax further said this allows Iran to increase the number of people who are vaccinated and gives the opportunity to add the vaccine to the national immunization program as is practiced in many countries.
The 'Grippol Plus' vaccine is given to children and pregnant women to prevent them falling ill with flu, and is sold throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States and in some EU countries.
