Who Is Boenjamin Setiawan, The Richest Doctor In Indonesia, Owner Of Kalbe Farma

Boenjamin Setiawan (Photo: Doc. Tanoto Foundation)

Deep sorrow is now enveloping the world of medicine in Indonesia after the passing of Boenjamin Setiawan on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. He is one of the national pharmaceutical figures and is widely known as the founder of PT Kalbe Farma Tbk, a giant entity that supplies various health products.

Citing various sources, Boenjamin was born in Tegal, Central Java on September 23, 1933. He studied at the University of Indonesia (UI) in pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. After graduating, Dr. Boen, as he is known, continued his studies to the United States to deepen his knowledge.

After winning the Ph.D., he then returned to Indonesia. Having served at UI as a lecturer, Dr. Boen decided to have a business with several friends. However, unfortunately, his business ran aground.

Not broken charcoal, he then continued his determination to be entrepreneur with the six brothers, a garage in the Priok area, North Jakarta. In September 1966, Dr. Boen released his first product, namely Bioplacenton and Kalpanax. Until now, these items can still be found on the market.

Dr. Boen himself gave the business name Kalbe, which departed from the initials his Chinese name, namely Katow Lip Boen. This business then continues to grow to issue various products, such as pharmaceuticals, health drinks, and health creams.

Some of the products that are familiar include Promag, Wood's cough medicine, Neuralgin, Mixagrip, Comix, Extra Joss and Prenagen.

Over time, Kalbe continued to triumph at home and abroad. In fact, the company is claimed to be the largest pharmaceutical entity in Southeast Asia. Like a tit for tat, Dr. Boenjamin Setiawan was named the eighth richest person in Indonesia.

Goodbye Dr. Boen!