BPOM Strengthens Local Pharmaceutical Industry To Reduce Dependence On Imported Drugs

JAKARTA - Indonesia's dependence on imported drugs is still quite high. This condition poses a big challenge to the national pharmaceutical industry, because most of the people's medical needs still rely on products from abroad.

Head of the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), Prof. Taruna Ikrar, revealed that the dominance of imported drugs can be seen from the comparison of the value of trade.

"The amount of exports for drugs alone is IDR 6.7 trillion, while what we import is IDR 176 trillion, so we need to change this many times," he said at the National Working Meeting of the Indonesian Pharmacists Association in Makassar, South Sulawesi, as quoted by ANTARA.

He emphasized that the government is committed to changing this situation so that domestic pharmaceutical products can host their own country. One of them is by strengthening the national pharmaceutical industry ecosystem to make it healthier and more competitive.

Professor Taruna also emphasized the importance of strict supervision in certification of good drug manufacturing methods, as well as a continuous monitoring and evaluation process for the pharmaceutical industry.

"So when asked how our pharmaceutical industry controls being the king of our country, I believe that there is potential. But most importantly of course the human resources, the pharmacist must be smart," he said.

According to him, Indonesia's pharmaceutical potential is very large. Currently, there are 272 drug industries with active factories, as well as more than 3,000 large pharmaceutical companies. The number of pharmacies, drug stores, and pharmaceutical installations has also reached more than 60 thousand units throughout Indonesia.

In addition, the potential for medicinal raw materials from nature is also abundant. Indonesia has more than 17,200 types of medicinal plants, but only 78 have been standardized and 21 have been successfully affiliated with.

"The revenue of this herbal medicine alone has IDR 350 trillion every year. The market potential is very large, but it needs to be worked on," he explained.

To strengthen the position of pharmaceutical exports, BPOM RI encourages policies that support investment, research, and development of local or pharmaceutical drug technology.

"We will make it easier and speed up the certification so that the research and development progress," said Taruna.

He added that advances in domestic technology also need to be driven through technology transfers with developed countries. This is important so that Indonesian pharmaceutical products have high quality and have the opportunity to enter the global market.

"Furthermore, the products after production must have good quality, so that the results are not only used in our country, but must be exported. That is what we are developing together with the capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry," he said.

Currently, BPOM RI is also working to improve its international reputation by targeting membership within the WHO authority. If achieved, Indonesian pharmaceutical products will be on par with American, European, and other developed standards so that they can be marketed freely abroad.