The director of Iran's Food and Drug Administration said on Sunday that since March 21, about two-thirds of Iran's drugs have experienced two rounds of price increases. Mahdi Pirsalehi said that rising costs of raw materials, transportation and production are some of the reasons driving up drug prices. He said that the shipping cost of some imported drugs by sea was about 3,000 US dollars, but now the freight rate has risen to 30,000 US dollars after switching to air freight. He added that the price increase was aimed at preventing pharmaceutical companies from operating at a loss. Pirsalehi said that Iran has allocated 4.5 billion US dollars in foreign exchange to purchase pharmaceuticals and medical equipment this year, of which 1.3 billion US dollars have already been disbursed according to the subsidy exchange rate.

The director of Iran's Food and Drug Administration said on Sunday that since March 21, about two-thirds of Iran's drugs have experienced two rounds of price increases. Mahdi Pirsalehi said that rising costs of raw materials, transportation and production are some of the reasons driving up drug prices. He said that the shipping cost of some imported drugs by sea was about 3,000 US dollars, but now the freight rate has risen to 30,000 US dollars after switching to air freight. He added that the price increase was aimed at preventing pharmaceutical companies from operating at a loss. Pirsalehi said that Iran has allocated 4.5 billion US dollars in foreign exchange to purchase pharmaceuticals and medical equipment this year, of which 1.3 billion US dollars have already been disbursed according to the subsidy exchange rate.