Halal brands in food products, as well as in pharmaceutical industries have, over the past decade, appealed to Muslim consumers all over the world. Pharmaceutical companies in Muslim countries are increasingly using halal materials in their products. Through enforcing halal medicine standards, Muslim countries, Iran included, have taken significant steps forward in producing halal medicines, vaccines and other pharmaceutical products. However, due to numerous constraints and challenges, the pharmaceutical industries in Iran have not been able to secure an appropriate share in the global trade of halal pharmaceutical products.

Currently Iran has a 0.3 percent share in the 1000 Billion Dollar global trade of pharmaceutical products, which having in mind the 7 percent share of Muslim countries in global spendings for medicines, can be translated into growing opportunities for Iranian pharmaceutical industries. Paving the grounds for the identification and registration of halal medicines produced in the country in such a way as to provide for the protection of intellectual property rights at the international level, adoption of regulations regarding halal pharmaceuticals, and dissemination of professional and scientific information on all imported and domestically produced medicines containing non-halal materials are forward steps in the development of halal pharmaceutical products.

In this context, one opportunity for the development of halal pharmaceutical industry, would be the replacement of products derived from animals with herbal and synthetic medicines. Using the appropriate processes and activities in the production of halal pharmaceuticals, in accordance with the laws of the countries designated as export destination of these products, in order to improve product quality and help ensuring the healthiness, cleanliness, and purity of the product, will lead to the promotion of exports of pharmaceutical products to the regional markets. Pharmaceutical products derived from animal products are rapidly being replaced by synthetic products, due to the high demand of consumers and animal-welfare activities in the West.

Elimination of animal-based substances will simply cause the products to be confirmed as halal. Unlike the cosmetics industry, where natural and organic products are rapidly prevailing in the market, to control the purity and accuracy of levels of active ingredients, pharmaceutical products are synthetically produced in laboratories. As a result, all categories of products carry the same characteristics in terms of appearance, quality and operation. This can be a favorable opportunity for producers to deliver synthetic molecules with compositions and effects similar to animal-based medicines.