Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami says the country aims to become a global hub for manufacturing deuterium drugs.
�In a not too distant future we will turn into a hub for manufacturing drugs based on deuterium which are good alternatives to chemical drugs and have lower side effects in comparison (to those drugs),� said Eslami.
Researchers believe deuterium, which is a heavy isotope of hydrogen, can substantially improve the metabolic properties of medicines and make them more effective by forming a stronger chemical bond to a carbon atom of a molecule used in drugs.

The AEOI launched a second phase of its deuterium production unit in Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility in central Iran in April 2021.

Officials said at the time that the unit was a first in the West Asia region and its isotope products were among the best in the world.

Eslami�s statement about Iran�s plans to become a global hub in deuterium drugs came as he was attending a ceremony to inaugurate a modern gamma knife radiosurgery facility in Tehran.

Eslami, an Iranian deputy president, said the AEOI will continue to provide technologies and equipment to domestic suppliers�to help them�in their effortsb to�manufacture sophisticated drugs and medical appliances.

 

 

By PRESS TV�