TEHRAN – The second exhibition on Iran's advanced technologies in Persian medicine (known as Farre Iran) will be held to introduce the country’s technological and knowledge-based products.

The main objective of the exhibition is to identify, assess, and showcase the most innovative and knowledge-based products in the Persian medicine sector, as well as natural and biological products which will ultimately strengthen the country’s innovation chain, and boost Iran’s market share of technological and health-oriented products, IRNA quoted Hossein Rezaeizadeh, the health ministry’s director for the traditional medicine office, as saying.

The exhibition will feature the products that are developed for the first time in the country, with no similar domestic sample made before, as well as the products that have already existed but have been significantly improved within a year, he added.

The products have to be domestically made based on indigenous innovation, obtain the required standards and approvals (up to the end of the upcoming summer), and have economic, social, and strategic impacts on national challenges, Rezaeizadeh noted.

The event will provide a great opportunity for companies and technologists that operate in the Persian medicine sector to showcase their achievements and innovative products, develop the market, attract investors, hold talks with policymakers, big industries, and supportive bodies.

National research, technology network

The health ministry’s traditional medicine is developing a national research and technology network for Persian medicine to integrate scientific and technological efforts to enhance Persian medicine’s status and expand the value chain of medicinal plants.

The network will organize research and scientific capacities of the country in supplementary medicine and Persian medicine to meet the needs of the health sector and knowledge-based economy, Rezaeizadeh said in February.

It will serve as a platform for the development of a roadmap for technologies relating to the indigenous knowledge to address the challenges, such as the lack of a structured link between traditional knowledge and modern technologies, the official further noted.

The network’s core areas are centered around biochemical, molecular, and microbiological research, animal studies, disease models, safety assessments, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics.

Developing interdisciplinary research and utilizing new technologies such as proteomics, metabolomics, microbiome studies, cellular models, bioinformatics data analyses, epidemiological studies, and advanced animal models are among other key pillars of the network to create synergy between traditional knowledge, biological, and data-driven sciences.

Iran’s commitment in traditional medicine

During the closing ceremony of the second World Health Organization (WHO) Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, Iran pledged commitments to advance the implementation of the Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine 2025-2034.

Co-organized by the WHO and the Government of India, the second global Summit on Traditional Medicine was held from December 17 to 19, in New Delhi, under the theme ‘Restoring Balance: The science and practice of health and well-being’.

Rezaeizadeh, Arman Zargaran, the advisor to the health ministry’s traditional medicine office, and Mohammad Fathali, the ambassador to India, attended the event.

Iran’s five commitments include launching a WHO collaborating center, launching a national platform for clinical trials, strengthening research and evidence, publishing in reputable journals, compiling five standard operating procedures (SOPs) for specialized Persian procedures, and integrating traditional medicine into the health system, the health ministry’s website reported.

MT/MG