Workers in protective clothing and masks operate a bottling and packaging line at a pharmaceutical production facility in Samarra.
Iraq boosts local drug production, eyes full self-sufficiency in pharmaceuticals
BAGHDAD — Iraq has raised its pharmaceutical self-sufficiency from 10% to 40% over the past three years and begun local production of 26 cancer medications and 12 biosimilars, an official said Tuesday, as part of a broader national push toward full self-reliance in the medical sector.
Hamoudi al-Lami, the prime minister’s adviser for industry and development, told the Iraqi News Agency that the pharmaceutical localization program has been a key priority since the start of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s administration.
“When the government began its work, local production covered just 9 to 10 percent of citizens’ medicine needs,” he said. “It has now reached 40 percent thanks to cabinet decisions and the prime minister’s direct follow-up on implementation.”
Al-Lami said the number of operating pharmaceutical factories has risen from 22 to 34, with all now working at full capacity. “Previously, most factories were operating at only 30 percent,” he noted. The number of registered national drugs also rose from 1,337 to 2,078, including many being registered for the first time in Iraq.
Among them are 40 new blood pressure medications, 30 for diabetes, and 40 antibiotics across multiple generations, he said. “These cover 90 percent of citizens’ needs. The remaining 10 percent includes high-value medicines such as those for cancer and blood diseases.”
Al-Lami said the government launched a technology transfer program to enable local production of cancer medications, beginning with secondary packaging and moving toward full production within five years. “Four new factories in Basra, Kurdistan, and Baghdad will soon begin manufacturing cancer drugs,” he said.
He added that Iraqi-made medicines cost no more than 25% of international prices while maintaining quality standards aligned with U.S. and British pharmacopoeias. “Iraqi medicine is 100 percent guaranteed and subject to strict supervision, unlike many imported drugs that suffer from fraud and smuggling.”
Al-Lami concluded that chronic disease medicines are now dispensed free through public clinic cards, and that most national products will fulfill a large share of demand next year, “bringing the country closer to achieving self-sufficiency in the pharmaceutical sector.”