Iranian Pharmaceutical Industry Future Trends:
An Expert Panel Analysis
-
Manuchehr Bashirynejad
,
Fatemeh Soleymani
,
Shekoufeh Nikfar
,
Abbas Kebriaeezadeh
,
Reza Majdzadeh
,
Ali Zackery
,
Nafiseh Zare
Abstract
Background: The pharmaceutical industry is changing worldwide due to innovations in biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital health. These advances are changing both drug development and healthcare systems, which must evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly aging population and rising medical care costs. This paper aims to delineate in more detail the changing face of the pharmaceutical industry in Iran's future. Methods: A sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed to collect the opinion of experts through the help of in-depth interviews (n=12), performed a thematic analysis, and further used the Analytic Hierarchy Process, validating our results through further expert reviews. Participants had averaged over 22 years of experience. Results: Five broad categories of trends were identified and weighted based on their significance: These are weighted in regard to the relative importance of each: Technology Advancement (0.31), Digital Transformation (0.28), Biotechnological Innovation (0.22), Supply Chain & Regulatory Evolution (0.12), and Leadership & Soft Skill Development (0.07). Our study emphasizes two very modern and fast-growing trends—artificial intelligence and personalized medicine—along with the difficulties Iran might experience with these advanced technologies. Conclusion: The future of the drug company in Iran is yet promising, with its own set of challenges. It has much to win and will have to overcome a host of regulatory bottlenecks and a lack of infrastructure so as not to stay behind in the race as AI and digital healthcare solutions seem to pick up speed around the globe.
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[22] Overby C.L., Kohane I., Kannry J.L., Williams M.S., Starren J., Bottinger E., Gottesman O., Denny J.C., Weng C., Tarczy-Hornoch P., et al. Opportunities for genomic clinical decision support interventions. Genet. Med. 2013;15:817–823. doi: 10.1038/gim.2013.128.
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[25] Ahmadi R, et al. Iran's pharmaceutical industry development. Iran J Pharm Res. 2023;22(1):1-15.
[26] Kawamoto K., Lobach D.F., Willard H.F., Ginsburg G.S. A national clinical decision support infrastructure to enable the widespread and consistent practice of genomic and personalized medicine. BMC Med. Inform. Decis. Mak. 2009;9:17. doi: 10.1186/1472-6947-9-17.
[27] Hodgson J. Regulatory Harmonization in Global Pharmaceuticals: Challenges and Opportunities. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 2021;20:7-9.
[28] Ahmadi R, et al. Iran's pharmaceutical industry development. Iran J Pharm Res. 2023;22(1):1-15.
[29] A. Monrat, O. Schelén, K. Andersson, A survey of blockchain from the perspectives of applications, challenges, and opportunities, IEEE Access 7 (2019) 117134–117151.
[30] N. R. Pradhan, A. P. Singh, S. Verma, M. Wozniak, J. Shafi, M. F. Ijaz, A blockchain based lightweight peer-to-peer energy trading framework for secured high throughput micro-transactions, Scientific Reports 12 (1) (2022) 14523.
[31] Mohammadi M, et al. Evolution of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Iran. J Ind Pharm. 2022;48(3):223-238.
[32] Rashidi H. Historical perspective of Iranian pharma. Iran J Med Sci. 2022;47(5):401-415.
[33] Cheraghali AM, Nikfar S, Behmanesh Y, Rahimi V, Habibipour F, Tirdad R, et al. Evaluation of availability, accessibility and prescribing pattern of medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2004;10:406–15.
[34] Kebriaeezadeh A, Koopaei AN, Abdollahiasl A, Nikfar S, Mohamadi N, Trend analysis of the pharmaceutical market in Iran; 1997–2010; policy implications for developing countries. DARU Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2013;21:52. doi: 10.1186/2008-2231-21-52.
[35] Cheraghali AM. Current status of biopharmaceuticals in the Iran pharmaceutical market. Generics and Biosimilars Initiative Journal (Gabi journal) 2013a;2(1):26–9
[2] Emadi S, Shafiee F. Challenges and opportunities in Iran's pharmaceutical industry: A review of domestic production and innovation. Iran J Pharm Res. 2022;21(3):351-365.
[3] IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. Global use of medicines: Outlook through 2027. 2023. https://www.iqvia.com
[4] Grand View Research. Pharmaceuticals Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report, 2023-2030. 2023.
[5] Khalili M, Mortazavi M, et al. Economic Evaluation of Iran's Pharmaceutical Industry: Challenges and Future Prospects. Iran J Econ Stud. 2020;4(2):35-49.
[6] Ramezanian N, et al. The role of biotechnology in Iran’s pharmaceutical industry: Current status and future prospects. Biotechnol Adv. 2021;39:107343.
[7] Jalali F, Zandkarimi A. Biosimilar medicines in the Iranian market: A way to more affordable medicines. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2020 May-Jun;82(3):482-7.
[8] Cheraghali AM. Trends in Iran pharmaceutical market. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. 2017;16(2):847-51.
[9] Aziz KA, Sallam T, Ibrahim AH, Sufian T. Improvement of research and biomedical publication. Saudi Med J. 2004;25:1319–1322.
[10] Rahman M, Fukui T. Biomedical publication--global profile and trend. Public Health. 2003;117:274–280. doi: 10.1016/S0033-3506(03)00068-4.
[11] Asef Zadeh S. Assessment of managerial skills of the research managers at the universities of medical sciences. Med Fac J Guilan Univ Med Sci. 2004;13:86–95.
[12] Fardis M, Mortazavi M. Iran's Pharmaceutical Market: An Overview of Recent Developments and Policy Implications. Middle East J Bus. 2021;16(1):28-35.
[13] PharmaBoardroom. Iran Pharma 2023 Report: The future of the pharmaceutical industry in Iran.
[14] Argiyantari B, Simatupang TM, Basri MH. Pharmaceutical supply chain transformation through application of the lean principle: a literature review. J Ind Eng Manag. 2020;13(3):475–494. doi: 10.3926/jiem.3100.
[15] Barenji RV, Akdag Y, Yet B, Oner L. Cyber-physical-based PAT (CPbPAT) framework for Pharma 4.0. Int J Pharm. 2019;567(June):0–45. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.06.036.
[16] Bianchi P, Durán C, Labory S (2019) Impact of Industry 4.0 on manufacturing. Transform Ind Policy Digit Age 11–11. 10.4337/9781788976152.00006
[17] Dai L (2006) From conventional technology to carbon nanotechnology. The fourth industrial revolution and the discoveries of C60, carbon nanotube and nanodiamond. Carbon Nanotechnol 3–11. 10.1016/B978-044451855-2/50004-8
[18] Gautam A, Pan X. The changing model of big pharma: Impact of key trends. Drug Discov Today. 2016;21(3):379–384. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2015.10.002.
[19] Niazi SK. Biosimilars and Interchangeable Biologics: From Cell Line to Commercial Launch. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2021.
[20] Pokorska-Bocci A., Stewart A., Sagoo G.S., Hall A., Kroese M., Burton H. ‘Personalized medicine’: What’s in a name? Per Med. 2014;11:197–210. doi: 10.2217/pme.13.107.
[21] Mohammadi M, et al. Evolution of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Iran. J Ind Pharm. 2022;48(3):223-238.
[22] Overby C.L., Kohane I., Kannry J.L., Williams M.S., Starren J., Bottinger E., Gottesman O., Denny J.C., Weng C., Tarczy-Hornoch P., et al. Opportunities for genomic clinical decision support interventions. Genet. Med. 2013;15:817–823. doi: 10.1038/gim.2013.128.
[23] Fleisch E, Weinberger M, Wortmann F. Digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry: Unlocking the potential of Industry 4.0. Pharmaceutical Technology. 2020;44(5):28-32.
[24] Welch B.M., Kawamoto K. Clinical decision support for genetically guided personalized medicine: A systematic review. J. Am. Med Inform. Assoc. 2012;20:388–400. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2012-000892.
[25] Ahmadi R, et al. Iran's pharmaceutical industry development. Iran J Pharm Res. 2023;22(1):1-15.
[26] Kawamoto K., Lobach D.F., Willard H.F., Ginsburg G.S. A national clinical decision support infrastructure to enable the widespread and consistent practice of genomic and personalized medicine. BMC Med. Inform. Decis. Mak. 2009;9:17. doi: 10.1186/1472-6947-9-17.
[27] Hodgson J. Regulatory Harmonization in Global Pharmaceuticals: Challenges and Opportunities. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 2021;20:7-9.
[28] Ahmadi R, et al. Iran's pharmaceutical industry development. Iran J Pharm Res. 2023;22(1):1-15.
[29] A. Monrat, O. Schelén, K. Andersson, A survey of blockchain from the perspectives of applications, challenges, and opportunities, IEEE Access 7 (2019) 117134–117151.
[30] N. R. Pradhan, A. P. Singh, S. Verma, M. Wozniak, J. Shafi, M. F. Ijaz, A blockchain based lightweight peer-to-peer energy trading framework for secured high throughput micro-transactions, Scientific Reports 12 (1) (2022) 14523.
[31] Mohammadi M, et al. Evolution of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Iran. J Ind Pharm. 2022;48(3):223-238.
[32] Rashidi H. Historical perspective of Iranian pharma. Iran J Med Sci. 2022;47(5):401-415.
[33] Cheraghali AM, Nikfar S, Behmanesh Y, Rahimi V, Habibipour F, Tirdad R, et al. Evaluation of availability, accessibility and prescribing pattern of medicines in the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Mediterr Health J. 2004;10:406–15.
[34] Kebriaeezadeh A, Koopaei AN, Abdollahiasl A, Nikfar S, Mohamadi N, Trend analysis of the pharmaceutical market in Iran; 1997–2010; policy implications for developing countries. DARU Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2013;21:52. doi: 10.1186/2008-2231-21-52.
[35] Cheraghali AM. Current status of biopharmaceuticals in the Iran pharmaceutical market. Generics and Biosimilars Initiative Journal (Gabi journal) 2013a;2(1):26–9
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How to Cite
1.
Bashirynejad M, Soleymani F, Nikfar S, Kebriaeezadeh A, Majdzadeh R, Zackery A, Zare N. Iranian Pharmaceutical Industry Future Trends:. JPPM. 2025;11(1):24-33.
