In a joint meeting of senior officials from the Medical Procurement Organization and the Food and Drug Administration, practical strategies were discussed and agreed upon to improve the storage of essential medicines, facilitate emergency drug release, and streamline processes for pharmaceutical allocation and licensing.
According to the Public Relations and International Affairs Unit of the
Medical Procurement Organization, a specialized meeting was held on Monday,
October 6, 2025, with the participation of Dr. Mohammadreza Shanehsaz, Managing
Director of the Medical Procurement Organization, and Dr. Mina Azough, Head of
the Pharmacy Department at the Food and Drug Administration, along with senior
managers from both organizations. The session aimed to enhance inter-agency
coordination in the procurement, storage, and distribution of the country’s
vital medicines.
During the meeting, it was decided that the Food and Drug Administration
would finalize the operational guidelines for the storage of strategic
medicines and provide the corresponding Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to
the Medical Procurement Organization for implementation. A proposal was also
made to establish a joint task force comprising representatives from Soha Helal
Distribution Company, the Food and Drug Administration, and selected provinces
to facilitate the release of medicines from warehouses during emergencies.
The Medical Procurement Organization expressed its readiness to store essential
medicines for crisis response in addition to strategic pharmaceuticals. It also
presented a report on the status of single-prescription medicines and the
challenges faced by importers in obtaining pharmaceutical licenses. These
issues were conveyed to the Food and Drug Administration for appropriate action
to remove existing barriers.
Furthermore, it was proposed that pharmacies affiliated with the Medical
Procurement Organization—given their specialized capacities and central role in
supplying essential medicines—be considered in the allocation of pharmaceutical
quotas in a targeted manner aligned with their missions. This approach could
improve patient access to specialized medicines and enhance the efficiency of
the national drug distribution network.
The meeting also emphasized the importance of issuing licenses for the
supply of specialized medicines, including blood factors and enzymes, to
selected pharmacies under the Medical Procurement Organization, to ensure
faster and more accurate responses to the needs of patients with rare
conditions.
This session was part of a series of strategic meetings among key health
sector institutions, reflecting a strong commitment to strengthening
pharmaceutical infrastructure, increasing preparedness for crisis situations,
and improving access to essential and specialized medicines for patients across
the country.