This Is An Opportunity, Observers Suggest Bio Farma Become A COVID-19 Vaccine Hub In Southeast Asia

Employees transport an Envirotainer containing raw materials for the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine upon arrival at Bio Farma, Bandung, West Java (Novrian Arbi/Antara)

JAKARTA - BUMN observer from the University of Indonesia, Toto Pranoto suggested Bio Farma as a COVID-19 vaccine hub in the Southeast Asia region, related to Indonesia-China cooperation which wants to make Indonesia a regional hub for vaccine producers. According to Toto, the vaccine manufacturing facility owned by Bio Farma as the holding company for pharmaceutical SOEs has been recognized as a vaccine producer that has passed the Organization's certification. World Health Organization (WHO) "Bio Farma's experience as a vaccine manufacturer has also been more than 100 years, so it's only natural that this company's reputation is very good," he said. Previously, SOE Minister Erick Thohir said that in the SOE sector, Indonesia and China has established a number of important agreements. One of them is cooperation to make Indonesia a regional hub for Production of vaccines. The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises who is also the Chief Executive of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery​​​​​Erick Thohir wants Indonesia to be able to produce its own vaccines. with other vaccine manufacturers. He added that in accordance with the assignment of the Ministry of SOEs to continue to work hard to obtain the Red and White Vaccine by collaborating with five universities and two research institutions. 19 with Baylor College of Medicine, USA.