TEHRAN – Tehran is playing host to the 26th international exhibition of medical, dental, pharmaceutical, and laboratory equipment (Iran Health Expo 2025), which kicked off today and will wrap up on June 13.

As one of the most important exhibitions in the health sector in the region, Iran Health Expo 2025 is bringing together leading healthcare professionals and companies, providing a great opportunity for domestic and international firms, from countries such as China, Russia, Indonesia, the UAE, and Czech Republic, Iraq, Afghanistan, Brazil, Turkmenistan, and Oman to showcase their latest achievements and boost their cooperation. 

Some 600 knowledge-based companies are displaying over 70 percent of domestically-made medical equipment. There are an estimated 1,442 technology companies in the health sector, manufacturing over 1,800 pharmaceutical tools.

Iran Health Expo is displaying the country’s latest products and achievements in the fields of biomedical engineering, pharmacology, mobile medical applications, hospital beds, respiratory medications, pediatric medical equipment, ophthalmic supplies, orthopedic equipment, pharmaceuticals, home care products, remote therapy, physiotherapy, surgical and medical emergency equipment, sonography and endoscopy, medical applications, electrical equipment, beauty products, and plastic surgery.

Iran Health aims to share experiences of health technology development as well as attract foreign investment in the field of health.

Enhancing the competitiveness of knowledge-based and technological companies for global markets, forming both domestic and foreign technological consortia to expand market presence, networking and sharing expertise in health technology development, commercializing technological achievements in the health sector, and developing health technology in the country are among the main goals of the exhibition.

The exhibition will also host expert meetings focusing on the role of artificial intelligence in the health sector. 

Several technical tours are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the exhibition to feature the health-oriented products of the knowledge-based companies to potential clients and help them expand their markets.

Iran regional leader in health system

In May, 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 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).

WHO EMRO is working closely with the Iranian regulatory institutions to achieve regulatory maturity level 3 in the pharmaceutical regulatory system to pave the way for broader exports of Iranian health-oriented products to global markets; it will also contribute to promoting global health security, Balkhi added.

Self-sufficiency in medicine, medical equipment a priority

The issue of medicine and medical equipment production and self-sufficiency in these areas is one of the government’s priorities, Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi said in March.

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 that 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.

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.

On May 12, 2024, Ahmad Moslemi, a health ministry official, said with 50 percent of medical devices being domestically manufactured, Iran holds the first place in West Asia for producing medical equipment both in terms of quantity and diversity, Iranian-made medical devices worth around $50 million are exported to 40 countries annually, IRNA quoted  Moslemi as saying.

Moreover, the official said, the number of products has increased fourfold. Equipment such as implants, as well as advanced medical devices, is manufactured in the country as well.

In addition, the country’s medical centers have been equipped with some 15,000 new hospital beds have been added to with 90 percent of the equipment produced locally, Moslemi added.

MT/MG