Iranian pharma company kicks off construction of plant in Azerbaijan

An Iranian pharma company Monday broke ground on a plant it is building as a joint venture with Azerbaijan.

Iran's Darou Pakhsh Pharma Chem is building the $30 million plant in the Pirallahi Industrial Park, the Financial Tribune reports. The plant is projected to be commissioned in two years.

Darou Pakhsh Pharma Chem last year signed an agreement with the Azerbaijan Investment Company and Azersun Holding for the three-phase project. Under terms of the deal, the Iranian drugmaker will initially export drugs to Azerbaijan, then build and equip the facility and then jointly manufacture finished product in Azerbaijan.

The government in Azerbaijan is said to be anxious to create pharma joint ventures to move reduce its reliance on imported drugs to reduce costs and improve the country’s healthcare and has been offering incentives to attract foreign partners. The country imports an estimated 60% of its pharma products.

Last year, Russian drugmaker R-Pharm struck a deal with Azerbaijan Investment Company and Azerbaijani company Vita-A which will create the joint venture Hayat Farm to produce drugs. Vita-A will hold majority interest in the deal. The groups said they will build a €70 million ($75 million) plant, which they said should be producing finished pharma products by the end of 2019.