Tehran, October 17: A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned that Iran’s drug companies are facing a financial crisis due to unpaid debts of more than $300 million.
In a letter to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Shahabeddin Sadr, who heads the Majlis (Parliament) Health Commission , urged the government to “pay attention to the demands of drug producers and distributors”.
Sadr wrote that the debts by state-run hospitals and clinics to the companies have risen to 3,322 billion rials ($326 million).
The parliamentarian warned that drug companies would face ‘serious challenges’ in the near future due to lack of liquidity.
Iran’s pharmaceutical industry is producing nearly 97 percent of the country’s domestic pharmaceutical needs.
—–Agencies