It is generally agreed by theoreticians and experts that there is a strong interrelationship among industrial, trade and technology policies and that the formulation and implementation of one will be inefficient, without taking account of the characteristics, opportunities and limitations of the other two. However, authorities and organizations in charge of these policies in Iran act separately, and at times their policies lack the necessary integration and coordination. Based on the official division of functions of government organizations, the Office of the Vice President of I. R. Iran for Science and Technology sets technology policies, while the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade designs industrial and trade policies. This general division, however, is more complex in the case of a number of specific sectors. For instance, in medical devices sector, the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade is in charge of endeavoring to develop relevant industries as well as trade in this field aiming at promoting exports; the Office of the Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs is in charge of formulating technology policies in order to enhance domestic production and promote technological capability in this area; and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education is responsible for policy making, standardization, monitoring and assessment, pricing, and purchasing in this sector, all of which functions are carried out in line with the main objective of securing public health.
The absence of coordination and integration in policies and objectives among these organs has paved the ground for creation of uncompetitive firms. As the mission of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education is to ensure public health in the society, medical devices have practically been procured through imports, leading to a considerable negative trade balance of 900 million Dollars in the sector, with exports amounting to only three percent of imports. This definitely contradicts the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade's policy of “export promotion strategy”, and the Office of the Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs' policy of “enhancing domestic production and promoting technological capability”.
The lack of policy coherence is also well projected in the knowledge-based area of biopharmaceuticals. As this is a knowledge-intensive sector, interaction between manufacturing units and research and academic centers is highly essential; a fact which underscores the role of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology in the relationship between the industry and academia. In the absence of such mechanisms as technology evaluation, protection of intellectual property rights for researchers, commercialization regulations, etc., there is no meaningful relationship between the industry and academia, and knowledge, therefore, does not translate into value. Accordingly, despite significant industrial and technological developments worldwide, Iran has not been able to adopt measures and policies in tandem with to such developments. According to international reports, biopharmaceuticals accounted for 10 percent of global pharmaceutical market of 751 billion Dollars in 2007; while as indicated by the Ministry of Health's statistical bulletin, in spite of government support for development of biotechnology, the domestically produced biopharmaceuticals have only 1.5 percent of the domestic pharmaceutical market in Iran.
All said, the crucial question is what industrial, trade and technology policies can promote competitive advantage in the area of medical devices and biopharmaceuticals to achieve export oriented, high value-added industrial production. To answer the above question, we need to gain knowledge in such areas as the theoretical structure of policy coherence; industrial, trade and technological characteristics of these two sectors ; characteristics of the supply chain in these sectors; performance of stakeholders in these sectors; and institutional (both legal and organizational) characteristics of these sectors. Finally, based on the above mentioned characteristics, including the relevant impediments and restrictions, integrated industrial, trade and technology policies will be proposed for these two sectors.

Project objectives 
The primary objective of the project is to design integrated and practical industrial, trade and technology policies for biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. The following are its secondary objectives:

1. Analyzing the supply chain and stakeholders in order to identify major challenges in these sectors;
2. Studying policy making mechanisms in countries with efficient performance in these sectors, and drawing lessons for the country from their experiences;
3. Proposing coherent and integrated policies necessary for the development of these sectors.

Beneficiary Organizations

• The Office of the Vice President for Science and Technology;
• Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade;
• Ministry of Health and Medical Education;
• The Center for technological Cooperation (affiliated to the Office of the President).