Tehran, June 28, IRNA - Some 20 European, Asian and South American countries have voiced their willingness to purchase Iranian multiple sclerosis (MS) drug 'Cinnovex', a medical official said.

Concurrent with the production of the main drug for treating MS, the Americans have launched negative propaganda to undermine Islamic Republic's major achievement, Haleh Hamedi said.

Hamedi noted that 'Cinnovex' has attracted the attention of most countries because it is of high quality in conformity with international standards and costs less that the American version.

Earlier, Fereydoun Mahboudi, the head of Iran's Biotechnology Center stated that 'Cinnovex' is very similar to its US counterpart Avonex produced by America's Biogen Company.

"Prior to the domestic production of the drug in Iran, Biogen Company sold about dlrs 1.8 billion of Avonex worldwide annually, providing 80 percent of the requirements of MS patients in the world," Mahboudi said.

"Iran can produce 500,000 units of the MS drug, which is twice the country's requirements and half of this amount can be exported." Some 2.5 million people currently suffer from multiple sclerosis throughout the world, of whom about 30,000 to 40,000 live in Iran.
 

Related Web Sites:

• Cinnovex
• Iran's Biotechnology Studies Center

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