According to the Communication and Information Center in the Vice Presidency of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, the Finlay Vaccine Institute has had extensive cooperation in the field of vaccine production with the Pasteur Institute of Iran for many years, and several joint products have been released by the two institutes, the latest of which is the Covid-19 vaccine (pastokovec).

Dehghani, Vice President of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, in a joint meeting with the president and managers of this institution, pointed out the appropriate capacities that exist in Pasteur Institute of Iran, and called for the expansion of joint cooperation between the two institutions in the field of technology transfer and production of new vaccines. He emphasized the full support of the Vice Presidency of Science for these collaborations.

At the same time, he suggested that in addition to the good cooperation with the public sector, attention should also be paid to the new capacities and platforms that have been developed in the form of knowledge-based companies in Iran, and joint cooperation should be extended to the private sector as well.

Referring to the successful experience of sending Iranian experts to Finlay Institute in the past years, Dehghani suggested that a team of Iranian experts be sent to that institute again and develop the products through specific training courses.

According to the limited information of the Finlay managers regarding the knowledge-based companies, the Vice President of Science invited them to visit the knowledge-based companies and their capacities by sending a team to Iran.

Dr. Dehghani and the accompanying team also visited the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB). This center, which started its activity since 1981, is one of the subsidiaries of BioCubaFarma Holding, which specializes in the field of biological drugs and veterinary drugs, production of biotechnology products related to industry and agriculture, and also the production of various vaccines. The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Cuba has had relatively good cooperation with Iran since the past years, so that around 50 Iranian experts have completed training in that center. Of course, the focus of cooperation is more on the joint production of vaccines, which, considering the wide range of its products, has a great capacity to expand joint cooperation.

In a meeting that was held with the presence of the directors of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Cuba, Dehghani suggested that considering that the center's cooperation with Iran was limited to the Pasteur Institute and the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, the managers of this collection also visit capacities of Iranian knowledge-based companies.

According to the vice president of science, considering the new platforms that have been created in Iranian knowledge-based companies, there are good grounds for joint cooperation and even the transfer of production lines from Iran.

Dehghani said: the field of biotechnology has received special support from the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution and the president, and with the investments made, Iran now exports 100 million dollars of biotech drugs annually, and a total of 1.8 billion dollars in the field of health products. Therefore, there is a very good opportunity to expand the joint cooperation between the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Iranian companies and institutions.