The CEO of Actoverco said: “This Company has received about 90 million and 800 thousand Euros of governmental currency in the first 6 months of the year.”

First, please comment on the numbers published by the Central Bank about the recipients of governmental currency this year, especially Actoverco.

There are several issues in this regard. The first is that the entire Actoverco group is importing under the supervision of one company, so it is not clear exactly how much was spent on importing medicine or on raw materials and machinery.

How much currency has Actoverco received?

The Company has received about 90.8 million Euros of governmental currency in the first 6 months of the year.

How much of the 6 million is for the final and how much for the other items?

Approximately 18 million was dedicated for the final products and the rest for the Actoverco factory and related plants for items such as machinery, equipment, raw materials, etc. which include receiving foreign exchange. But excipients, some packaging materials and even machineries (2-3 million Euro) is related to Actoverco’s factories.

In the meantime, the important point and the issue that should be the role-model of all importing companies to enter the production discussion, is that Actoverco Company had sales of 451 billion Tomans in 2016, and in the first six months of the 2018 , this amount increased to 520 billion Tomans. Now, considering that our company’s pipeline drugs are numerous, it is predicted that sales will reach 1200-1300 billion Tomans. In fact, the growth of production and sales should be a model. 

What is the reason of this growth?

In 2016, there was a phase 1 Actoverco plant with a capacity of 2 million tablets and capsules per year. In 2018, this capacity has reached 1.8 billion. By the end of this year, with the new factory, it will reach 7.8 billion. That means we will become the greatest tablet and capsule producing factory in the country.

We cannot invest 40 million Euros on a new factory and do not think about the raw material. In 2016, we registered less than 80 molecules; however, today, as I speak to you, we have 170 registered CTDs. All of the raw materials have been purchased for this amount of production. All these cases have been due to the vigilance of our team, and in addition, the Ministry of Health, with the management of Dr. Asghari and Dr. Barandagi, has had a good cooperation with us in the recent year. The same thing accounts for Dr. Abdezadeh, too. It is interesting that we were told there is currency in the central bank and you could receive it, now we have prepared the currency at any cost and we have provided a lot of raw materials for production.

In 2016, with a limited amount of quota, we imported Neurobion ampules. You know, this ampule is one of the most popular ones that we took quotas, and the other quantities that people wanted, were smuggled in, which I think one of the highest medicine trafficking rates belongs to Neurobion.

 

In 2016, we did not have any Neurobion at all and we imported in a very limited quantity, but now we cover the need of whole country and even according to our contract, we can export it, but we have been told not to export.

We also have 5 new molecules for ampoules and we have taken their raw materials.

We did not have a prefilled syringe and vial producing factory in 2016. This factory was exploited at the end of 2016and today we also have raw materials at there for domestic production.

It has been about 2-3 months since the operating licenses were issued for Actero and it was able to import a limited amount of raw materials; although, previously all of the Actero’s raw materials were imported by Actoverco because we could not wait for the licenses while we had invested tens of millions of Euros. In another word, we could not wait for the licenses to be issued and did not have any raw materials, and after completing these steps, now we start to build the factory and produce and wait another year for sustainability analysis. Actoverco did all of these and used its own facilities to produce.

About a few weeks ago we received the GMP certification for the oncology factory and as we anticipated, we hope that our products will be on the market in one month.

The most important thing we need to know right now is to find the right molecule, perform capacity assessment, get to know the drug market appropriately, know the doctor’s request, see the patients’ needs, and know where quality is needed to enter into these areas. We have put our lives in this way and you cannot believe how much investment has been made during this period.

 

Unfortunately, BARJAM faced a problem today, but if we move forward like five years ago that Iran could join the WTO and PIC/S, a large number of our pharmaceutical factories would have been shut down, and if that happens, what factories would have been replaced? In this case, either imports had to be made or a GMP-certified factory had to do the production. Today we know we are in a state of crisis.

 

We have invested around 25 million Euros in AtiPharmed for the production of hormones. In fact, I emphasize once again that sales growth was due to production growth and capacity building and quality improvement.

By the end of the year, how much currency will you receive for medicine and raw materials?

We currently have about 12 months of raw material reserves; nonetheless, again this is a matter of the Ministry of Health’s policy. For example we did not expect the 90 billion Tomans sales of half-year. Our expectations was about 70 billion Tomans and the reason for this growth was a problem that occurred for other companies and we got their share of sales.

In total, how much currency allocation will you achieve this year?

If we continue in the same proportion, we may receive the same amount, which will be around 180 million Euros. It is a loss for us to buy and store goods, because we have to pay the bank. We have always been a company that has not had goods stored for more than 2 months and we are proud of that. Our reserve is now for over 12 months because our capacity for new drugs has increased.

If you have any points left, please tell us.

About 700 million Euros will be spent on final medicines, of which 500 million Euro belong to the drugs that imported and can be produced and is being produced. This suggests that there is a demand for that brand and its quality that cannot be ignored. This is a fact and a practical measure should be done for it. The private or public sector must identify barriers of production because these barriers prevent the production. These barriers must be removed so that investors can produce in Iran. Why an investor company should be questioned about the received amount of currency? Has he sinned? Why do they exhibit this in a way that inspires people, they are guilty? The important issue is the need of the country, and solutions must be found for that need.

What was the sales rate in 2017?

The total sales of Actoverco in 2017 were 802 billion Tomans and this year this number will reach 1200 billion Tomans. The three companies of Cobel, Behestan and Shafayab have received the same amount of currency in recent years, which means that they have a stable performance. Consequently, if there is an incentive that as a result of more production, sales will also increase, so they will seek to increase production. It should be modeled on this.

The final word…

For products with old and new molecules, we have about 12 to 18 months of raw materials reserve, and this is important because people also could feel assured about Actoverco’s drugs. This can prevent hoarding and intrusion.

 

The CEO of Actoverco said: “This Company has received about 90 million and 800 thousand Euros of governmental currency in the first 6 months of the year.”

First, please comment on the numbers published by the Central Bank about the recipients of governmental currency this year, especially Actoverco.</p>

There are several issues in this regard. The first is that the entire Actoverco group is importing under the supervision of one company, so it is not clear exactly how much was spent on importing medicine or on raw materials and machinery.

How much currency has Actoverco received?

The Company has received about 90.8 million Euros of governmental currency .</p>

How much of the 6 million is for the final and how much for the other items?

Approximately 18 million was dedicated for the final products and the rest for the Actoverco factory and related plants for items such as machinery, equipment, raw materials, etc. which include receiving foreign exchange. But excipients, some packaging materials and even machineries (2-3 million Euro) is related to Actoverco’s factories.

In the meantime, the important point and the issue that should be the role-model of all importing companies to enter the production discussion, is that Actoverco Company had sales of 451 billion Tomans in 2016, and in the first six months of the 2018 , this amount increased to 520 billion Tomans. Now, considering that our company’s pipeline drugs are numerous, it is predicted that sales will reach 1200-1300 billion Tomans. In fact, the growth of production and sales should be a model. 

What is the reason of this growth?

In 2016, there was a phase 1 Actoverco plant with a capacity of 2 million tablets and capsules per year. In 2018, this capacity has reached 1.8 billion. By the end of this year, with the new factory, it will reach 7.8 billion. That means we will become the greatest tablet and capsule producing factory in the country.

We cannot invest 40 million Euros on a new factory and do not think about the raw material. In 2016, we registered less than 80 molecules; however, today, as I speak to you, we have 170 registered CTDs. All of the raw materials have been purchased for this amount of production. All these cases have been due to the vigilance of our team, and in addition, the Ministry of Health, with the management of Dr. Asghari and Dr. Barandagi, has had a good cooperation with us in the recent year. The same thing accounts for Dr. Abdezadeh, too. It is interesting that we were told there is currency in the central bank and you could receive it, now we have prepared the currency at any cost and we have provided a lot of raw materials for production.

In 2016, with a limited amount of quota, we imported Neurobion ampules. You know, this ampule is one of the most popular ones that we took quotas, and the other quantities that people wanted, were smuggled in, which I think one of the highest medicine trafficking rates belongs to Neurobion.

 

In 2016, we did not have any Neurobion at all and we imported in a very limited quantity, but now we cover the need of whole country and even according to our contract, we can export it, but we have been told not to export.

We also have 5 new molecules for ampoules and we have taken their raw materials.

We did not have a prefilled syringe and vial producing factory in 2016. This factory was exploited at the end of 2016and today we also have raw materials at there for domestic production.

It has been about 2-3 months since the operating licenses were issued for Actero and it was able to import a limited amount of raw materials; although, previously all of the Actero’s raw materials were imported by Actoverco because we could not wait for the licenses while we had invested tens of millions of Euros. In another word, we could not wait for the licenses to be issued and did not have any raw materials, and after completing these steps, now we start to build the factory and produce and wait another year for sustainability analysis. Actoverco did all of these and used its own facilities to produce.

About a few weeks ago we received the GMP certification for the oncology factory and as we anticipated, we hope that our products will be on the market in one month.

The most important thing we need to know right now is to find the right molecule, perform capacity assessment, get to know the drug market appropriately, know the doctor’s request, see the patients’ needs, and know where quality is needed to enter into these areas. We have put our lives in this way and you cannot believe how much investment has been made during this period.

 

Unfortunately, BARJAM faced a problem today, but if we move forward like five years ago that Iran could join the WTO and PIC/S, a large number of our pharmaceutical factories would have been shut down, and if that happens, what factories would have been replaced? In this case, either imports had to be made or a GMP-certified factory had to do the production. Today we know we are in a state of crisis.

 

We have invested around 25 million Euros in AtiPharmed for the production of hormones. In fact, I emphasize once again that sales growth was due to production growth and capacity building and quality improvement.

By the end of the year, how much currency will you receive for medicine and raw materials?

We currently have about 12 months of raw material reserves; nonetheless, again this is a matter of the Ministry of Health’s policy. For example we did not expect the 90 billion Tomans sales of half-year. Our expectations was about 70 billion Tomans and the reason for this growth was a problem that occurred for other companies and we got their share of sales.

In total, how much currency allocation will you achieve this year?

If we continue in the same proportion, we may receive the same amount, which will be around 180 million Euros. It is a loss for us to buy and store goods, because we have to pay the bank. We have always been a company that has not had goods stored for more than 2 months and we are proud of that. Our reserve is now for over 12 months because our capacity for new drugs has increased.

If you have any points left, please tell us.

About 700 million Euros will be spent on final medicines, of which 500 million Euro belong to the drugs that imported and can be produced and is being produced. This suggests that there is a demand for that brand and its quality that cannot be ignored. This is a fact and a practical measure should be done for it. The private or public sector must identify barriers of production because these barriers prevent the production. These barriers must be removed so that investors can produce in Iran. Why an investor company should be questioned about the received amount of currency? Has he sinned? Why do they exhibit this in a way that inspires people, they are guilty? The important issue is the need of the country, and solutions must be found for that need.

What was the sales rate in 2017?

The total sales of Actoverco in 2017 were 802 billion Tomans and this year this number will reach 1200 billion Tomans. The three companies of Cobel, Behestan and Shafayab have received the same amount of currency in recent years, which means that they have a stable performance. Consequently, if there is an incentive that as a result of more production, sales will also increase, so they will seek to increase production. It should be modeled on this.

The final word…

For products with old and new molecules, we have about 12 to 18 months of raw materials reserve, and this is important because people also could feel assured about Actoverco’s drugs. This can prevent hoarding and intrusion.