Razi Institute in Northeastern Iran Records Annual Production of Over 360 Million Doses of Vaccines

“This year December will be the 100th year since the founding of the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute. Currently, more than 80 different products are produced in this institution, including vaccines used in medicine, veterinary medicine, poultry, and various types of diagnostic antigens. These make the institute unique in the region both in terms of the variety of products and in terms of production technology,” Hamidreza Farzin said at a ceremony to commemorate the National Day of Veterinary Medicine.

Stating that the Northeast branch of Razi research institute is the oldest among the 6 branches of the country, he reminded, “This complex was established in 1957. The annual production of Gumboro vaccine 2,500 doses is as high as 200 million doses per year, Gumboro vaccine 5,000 doses 100 million doses per year, afrotoxins vaccine with an annual production rate of 15 million doses and gangrene vaccine with an annual production rate of 16 million doses, among the current productions of this branch. which meets more than 80% of the country's needs.”

Head of the Razi Northeast branch further pointed out that the institute is the only vaccine producer in the country, adding, “More than 360 million doses of vaccine are produced in the Razi Institute of Mashhad every year.”

“The production of the five enterotoxemia, gangrene and bacterin vaccine, which is a very good vaccine in terms of vaccination costs, is one of these products. Also, the 6-fold enterotoxemia toxoid vaccine, which has a newer technology than the previous vaccines, is also one of the other products of this institute, and the production stages of these two products have been completed and are going through the stages of obtaining a license from the veterinary system organization. Another vaccine that has gone through the production stages and is in the final stages is the ostrich enterotoxemia vaccine, which has not been produced in the country so far,” Farzin said.

“Another vaccine that is in the process of production and we have obtained good results from it is the recombinant influenza H5 vaccine, which is based on the very new technology of molecular cell systems, and there are less than 10 countries in the world that have been able to achieve this technology. However, our colleagues in this branch succeeded in producing this vaccine, which is in clinical trial phase. We hope to be able to put this vaccine into operation next year, because it will be one of the very good vaccines in the field of poultry vaccines in the country,” he went on to say.

In response to a question whether they export their products to  foreign countries, the head of Razi Northeast branch said, “Exports are made from the central institute located in Karaj [near Tehran] and mainly to the countries of the region, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and some African countries.”

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