A meeting was held with the title of “the national plan to develop stem cells and regenerative medicine sciences and technology”. Ali Akbar Haghdoost, the educational deputy of ministry of health, Esmaeil Ghaderfar, the head of the strategic technologies development headquarter, Amir Ali Hamidieh, the secretary of the stem cells sciences and technologies development headquarter, as well as some of the authorities and activists of the innovation and technology ecosystem.

The meeting was primarily held to create and upgrade the necessary infrastructure for development and self-sufficiency and to acquire scientific and technological authority in this field, culture and information to properly benefit the scientific community from its achievements and progress and stabilize the structure of comprehensive stem cell and regenerative medicine centers.

During the meeting, Esmaeil Ghaderifar, the head of the strategic technologies development headquarter, pointed out the cooperation of the ministry of health to facilitate the innovation environment, stating: technologies activities have entered a new phase due to the formation of an innovation and technology ecosystem in the country. In addition to research, the Vice-Presidency has focused on the development of knowledge-based companies, startups and businesses. A science produced in centers must be turned into a business.

Four metropolises were equipped with comprehensive stem cell centers

Regarding the comprehensive stem cell center, Ghaderifar expressed: this center has been established to create the necessary infrastructures in different provinces of the country.

In the first place, centers have been built in four metropolises of Shiraz, Tehran, Kerman and Tabriz, which shows a successful model. We are currently trying to determine the fate of the set up centers in the same management period. Of course, in other provinces such as Razavi Khorasan, these centers are also being set up. Therefore, we need to synergize the existing capacities in other provinces and use the network to look at these infrastructures so that the flow of knowledge development enters the discussion of treatment.

He continued: Iran has made good progress in the field of stem cells and reconstructive medicine, and the activists of this ecosystem have made a difference for this sector with their achievements. These actions have made Iran a leader among neighboring countries. During our trip to Turkey last year, our differences in this area were very clear, which shows the acceleration of the country"s scientific movement.

140 knowledge-based companies play a role in the stem cell technology ecosystem

In another part of the meeting, Amir Ali Hamidieh, the secretary of the stem cells, pointed out the new perspective toward this area, mentioning: in previous years, activities in this field were limited to the production of scientific articles that did not conform to the policies of the Vice-Presidency.

He also pointed out: today, the country"s international cooperation and the attraction of Iranians living abroad have also grown significantly over the years. Before the formation of these changes and five years ago, Iran"s scientific rank in this field was 31, and now we are ranked 13^th and have been able to overtake countries such as Turkey and the Zionist regime. Moreover, cell therapy regulations and gene therapy are being developed in the country.

Ali Akbar Haghdoost, the educational deputy of ministry of health emphasized the necessity of achieving scientific authority in various science and technology fields and explained the pre-requisites for this process. In this regard, he marked: reaching scientific authority is a difficult and arduous path. Therefore, designing and creating the necessary structures in this regard is essential.

A report by the public relations and information center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs