TEHRAN –Iranian knowledge-based companies have participated in the 2024 Southeast Asian Healthcare and Pharma Show (SEACare), which was held from April 17 to 19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The show provided a great opportunity for Iranian producers and exporters to showcase their latest medical equipment, supplies, and pharmaceutical products in the important market of Southeast Asia and benefit from its commercial advantages.

Besides serving as an exhibition platform, the event featured a diverse program of complementary seminars and workshops for visitors.

It provided visitors the opportunity to learn about the latest trends and network.

The main topics included hospital equipment and solutions; diagnostics, laboratory equipment; and rehabilitation.

In the pharmaceutical realm, there were over-the-counter products, packaging, herbal medicine, and cosmetics.

Special attention was given to the emerging sectors of cleanroom technology and facilities management, which are gaining increasing importance.

SEACare show

As the name reflects the focus of the fair is on the Southeast Asian region as well as the two main areas: healthcare provision and pharmacy.

SEACare brings together traders and visitors from all over the world, showcasing the burgeoning potential of the region. It offers an ideal gateway for trade, collaboration, and growth in Southeast Asia.

SEACare emerges as a pivotal marketplace for both local and international industry players.

Beyond Southeast Asia, SEACare draws strength from the active participation of International Pavilions.

Featuring top healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, trade commissions, and agencies, the event stands as a global convergence of healthcare excellence.

It is open only to trade visitors and professional visitors. This year, the event boasted over 200 international exhibitors and received about 5000 decision-making visitors.

Exhibitors benefited from a fine-tuned visitor promotion process, which included personalized letters, weekly product highlights, short messages, and follow-up calls, with the online show review as the anchor.

Over 60 countries import Iranian medical equipment

On January 13, the head of Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters said medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually,

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made, IRNA quoted Abdolreza Yaqoubzadeh as saying.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country, he added.

Yaqoubzadeh went on to say that the country's need for medical equipment production is three to four billion dollars per year, some one billion dollars of which is imported.

Exporting to neighbors

On December 30, 2023, Vice President for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-based Economy, Rouhollah Dehqani-Firouzabadi, said the country was planning to export laboratory equipment to neighboring countries.

Knowledge-based companies started to meet the country’s technological needs in the past decade, he said, adding that the Vice Presidency supported the companies to manufacture laboratory equipment, Mehr News Agency reported.

Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products, Dehqani-Firouzabadi noted.

Foreign delegations that attend Iranian exhibitions will be familiarized with the country’s capabilities, he said, adding that the export of knowledge-based products was $300 million in the year to March 2021, but increased to $600 million the year after.

The export has surged to $1.5 billion so far in the current Iranian calendar year and is forecast to hit $2 billion by the end of the year, he said.

MT/MG