Iran medicine shortages deepen as war, shipping restrictions continue

For Ali Mohseni, the impact of the ongoing Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="119503" data-entity-type="event">US-Israeli war against Iran is measured not in missile ranges or battlefield maps, but in the insulin pens his 74-year-old mother needs every day.Before the conflict, the Tehran resident said, a five-pack of insulin pens could usually be found at almost any pharmacy, but the price has since more than tripled, while supplies have become so scarce that he sometimes has to visit several pharmacies to find them.“She cannot simply stop taking it,” Mohseni, 32, said. “Insulin is an essential, life-sustaining medication for her.”medicine shortages have become an increasingly serious problem for ordinary Iranians, as maritime shipping disruptions, sanctions, inflation, the weakening rial and direct damage to Iran’s pharmaceutical sector strain the country’s drug supply.Iranians wait to get prescription medicines in Tehran during the Covid-19 pandemic. The current war is also hampering the sourcing of their drugs. Photo: AFPHealth Minister Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi has said that 16 pharmaceutical factories and more than 70 hospitals have been attacked since the war began, describing the strikes as violations of humanitarian rules.Among those affected was Tofigh Daru Research and Engineering Company, a Tehran-based company that produces active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, used in medicines including treatments for cancer and multiple sclerosis.According to the company, three missiles struck its main building on March 31, damaging laboratories, a data centre, production facilities and storage areas.Smoke and flames rise in Chabahar, Iran after explosions in July. The nation was first attacked by the US and Israel in February. Photo: Social media via ReutersNavid Nobakht, chief executive officer of Tofigh Daru, said he believed the attack was intended to disrupt production of specialised medicines and create shortages for patients who depend on them.The company had no military function, he said. “We just produced medicines for the patients.”