Iran’s Knowledge-Based Firms Take Role in Fight on COVID-19


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Following the outbreak of a novel coronavirus that has infected more than 9,000 people in Iran so far, the country’s knowledge-based companies have started producing the necessary equipment for containing the disease.

Domestic knowledge-based companies at the Pardis Technology Park have begun to satisfy the demands of hospitals and medical centers across the country for the necessary medicine, equipment and supplies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and treat the patients.

At least 17 knowledge-based companies in the healthcare and medical fields are working on four main sectors in the battle with the novel coronavirus: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research studies.

Two enterprises have succeeded in manufacturing coronavirus diagnostic tests kits that will come onto the market in the near future.

Other knowledge-based companies are also producing sanitary gel and spray, hand sanitizer, and pharmaceutical products such as edible sachets, edible vials, and capsules for boosting the body’s immune system.

The Iranian businesses are also manufacturing a broad range of medical equipment and hospital apparatuses, such as anesthesia machines for patients at the ICU, automatic shoe cover dispensers, disposable dishes and tools for hospitals, medical autoclaves and sterilizers, and hospital beds.

One of the knowledge-based companies has manufactured an atomic force microscope (AFM) used for research on viruses, while its peers in the IT sector have developed various computer software.

The number of people tested positive for the coronavirus in Iran hit 9,000 on Wednesday after detection of 958 new cases.

The death toll from COVID-19 outbreak in the country has also risen to 354. Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 coronavirus patients have recovered from the respiratory disease and been discharged from the hospital so far.