TEHRAN – The fourth international medical, dental, laboratory, and pharmaceutical equipment exhibition, known as Iran Med, is scheduled to be held from October 13 to 16 in Tehran.

The exhibition serves as a great platform for top Iranian manufacturers to showcase the latest innovations and products in fields like medical, hospital, and dental equipment and tools; surgical, imaging, and diagnostic equipment; hygiene products; and diagnostic and treatment equipment.

It also provides a great opportunity for manufacturers, importers, distributors, and experts in medical equipment sector experts and specialists operating in health industry to share ideas, hold meetings, and expand their presence in international markets.

The exhibition seeks to develop knowledge in pharmaceutical sector through holding free educational workshops on emerging technologies and knowledge-based healthcare innovations, regulatory, standards and export development challenges, market analysis and health economics panels, building educational capacity for medical equipment and biomedical engineering, as well as medical equipment maintenance and calibration technical workshops.

This year’s exhibition will host different participants from Eurasia, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia, and Southeast Asia. Establishing an African panel in cooperation with African representatives, the exhibition aims to make African nations more familiar with the country’s achievements in health industry. Holding meetings with these countries are among other parts of the event, Mehr news agency reported.

Iranian companies and their partners from Southeast Asia and Eurasia will sign two or three joint manufacturing agreements.  

On the sidelines of the exhibition, Iran Med National Award will be held to identify and honor outstanding domestic products, technical and engineering services, and innovative student projects in the field of medical equipment. The event focuses on three main categories: ‘Student Projects’, ‘Innovation and Impact in the Healthcare Industry’, and ‘After-Sales Service and Quality’.

Some 300 domestic and foreign companies from 35 countries attended Iran Med 2025.

Iran regional leader in health system

In May 2025, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) director for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) said Iran is a leading country in expanding its healthcare system and providing access to universal health coverage.

Lauding the country’s achievements in recent years, Hanan Balkhi said that by expanding primary health care services, increasing access to health coverage in rural areas, maintaining high vaccination rates, and reducing maternal and newborn mortality, Iran has managed to become a successful role model in the region, the health ministry’s website reported.

The official made the remarks in a meeting with Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA).

Self-sufficiency in medicine, medical equipment a priority

Medicine and medical equipment production and self-sufficiency in these areas are among the government’s priorities, Zafarqandi said in March 2025.

Medicine and medical equipment are two important areas related to people’s health, he said, adding: “We are trying to reach self-sufficiency for the supply of medicine and medical equipment,” IRNA reported.

In 2024, the head of Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters said the country exports medical equipment 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.

Some 600 medical equipment companies are operating in the country, producing around 99 percent of the medicine supplied to the domestic market.

Medical equipment manufacturers in the country produce and supply over 10,000 types of medical equipment to domestic and foreign markets. Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products.

MT/MG