BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 3 (Bernama) -- Iran has increased the prices of domestically produced drugs by 40 per cent as the exchange rate of foreign currency used to import raw materials has increased, the Iranian foods and drugs organisation deputy director Shams-Ali Rezazadeh said.
Quoting Rezazadeh, Azerbaijan's Trend news agency said the prices of foreign made drugs which are being imported have been increased by 90 per cent.

The government used to allocate the US dollar at the official exchange rate of 12,260 rials for the importation of drugs, but has announced it will no longer do so at this rate and has increased the rate to about 24,000 rials.

The Iranian people pay 80 per cent of medical costs out of their own pocket, Iran's local news agency quoted Tehran medical council member Iraj Khosronia as saying.

The figure is projected to be 25-30 per cent by 2015, he added.

Unfortunately, low quality pharmaceutical raw materials are being imported from China and India, he noted.

The administration of president-elect Rohani should pay special attention to the issue of medical treatment costs, he stressed.

By Bernama

 

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