TEHRAN – Iran and Cuba have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand international cooperation in the health sector and increase access to health products.
Iran’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Cuba’s National Control Center for Medicines and Medical Devices (CECMED) signed mutual recognition agreements for products with drug manufacturers on Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported.
According to the memorandum, licensed companies and manufacturing centers will also be recognized in the other country. Additionally, drugs and medical devices manufactured by each party will be registered and approved in the other country.
Official registration certificates for existing and new products will be issued within a maximum of one month after submission of the required documentation without re-evaluation. This will provide easier access to both countries’ markets.
The signed memorandum includes the holding of joint educational courses on regulatory issues and the sharing of technical, engineering and biological knowledge and experience for the construction and equipping of the plant.
This strategic agreement is an important step towards expanding the scientific, technical and economic relations between the two countries in the field of health and lays the foundation for active participation in education and research projects, especially in vaccines, biologics and clinical testing technologies.
joint efforts
In September, Ali Jafarian, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Health, and Tania Margarita Cruz Hernández, Acting Minister of Public Health of Cuba, discussed ways to expand medical and scientific ties between the two countries and took further action to promote cooperation in the fields of vaccine production and biotechnology.
The meeting focused on following up on the agreement previously reached between Iran and Cuba and promoting scientific and technical cooperation with the Pasteur Institute for the transfer of pneumococcal vaccine production technology from the Finley Vaccine Institute. Officials also discussed the potential for vaccine production.
In addition, Jafarian met with other Cuban officials, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, the Director and Director of the Cuban National Control Center for Medicines and Medical Devices (CECMED), the Directors of the Finley Vaccine Institute, the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), the Cuban Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry Group, BioCubaFarma, and the Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology. (CIM), and Cuba’s largest hospital, Hermanos Ameijeiras.
Medical ties between Iran and Cuba date back more than 30 years, with the first cooperation between the two countries beginning with the transfer of hepatitis B vaccine manufacturing technology from Cuba’s CIGB to Iran’s Pasteur Institute.
In recent years, the two countries have successfully developed a COVID-19 vaccine (PastoCovac), and the technology transfer process for a pneumococcal vaccine is currently underway.
Jafarian said Cuba is one of the Latin American countries with the highest degree of cooperation with Iran in various fields, including health.
“Thanks to Cuba’s advanced technology, both countries benefit from cooperation in the health sector, including vaccine development,” IRNA quoted Jafarian as saying.
MT/MG