BPOM Hopes That The Red And White Vaccine Can Be Mass Produced In Early 2022

JAKARTA - Head of the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) Penny K. Lukito hopes that the Red and White vaccine produced by Bio Farma can be mass produced. This is because the domestically made COVID-19 vaccine is estimated to have completed clinical trials in early 2022.

Meanwhile, currently, the vaccine developed by the Universitas Airlangga and Biotis is entering the preclinical stage and will undergo clinical trials at the end of 2021.

"The hope is that by early 2022 it can be mass produced. Currently BPOM is providing assistance to Biotis," said Penny as quoted from the KPCPEN statement, Friday, April 16.

Penny emphasized that BPOM certainly continues to support the acceleration of the research process and the vaccine production process. Penny also ensured that the entire research process carried out by the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (LBM) was in accordance with the requirements set by his institution.

Vaccine development research, he continued, must meet high-tech and advanced standards. "So that all stages must be followed carefully," he said.

Penny emphasized that caution in the vaccine development process is also in accordance with the direction of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) some time ago.

"In accordance with the mandate conveyed by the president, which states that vaccine development must follow the requirements and stages to prove that the vaccine action process puts precautionary elements and can be scientifically accounted for," he said.

Penny also ensured that the BPOM would try to provide assistance, relaxation, and guidance on all innovations in this vaccine testing phase.

"We are all out to help so that the Red and White vaccine can be as fast as possible according to the existing timeline or will be accelerated, we will see the progress to be realized at each stage," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Molecular Biology (LBM) Eijkman Amin Subandrio said the research conducted by his party had entered the final stage and was in accordance with the target set for the development of vaccine seeds for 12 months. Eijkman is currently in the optimization stage so that vaccine production can be as good as possible.

Not only that, the process of transferring vaccines from an R&D scale in the laboratory to an industrial scale is currently being carried out for clinical trials. "The next process will be mostly carried out by Bio Farma, but Eijkman is not free to remain involved until clinical trials phase 1,2 and 3," said Amin.