Cross-Sector Collaboration Is The Key To Increasing The Pharmaceutical Industry In Indonesia

Illustration of the pharmaceutical industry (Pexels/Chokniti)

JAKARTA - Early 2025, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that domestic drug production is the government's top priority that must be done. In order to make this happen, the quality of the drugs circulating must be strictly maintained.

The quality of drug trafficking in the community can be maintained by the involvement of competent pharmaceutical practitioners as well as the use of reliable and standardized test kits.

Not only that, cross-sectoral collaboration between academics, industry, and government is also important. This collaboration is useful for encouraging the growth of a sustainable and competitive national health industry at the global level.

"In the pharmaceutical sector, there are three main pillars, namely quality (quality), safety, and effectiveness," said Airlangga University Faculty of Pharmacy lecturer, Prof. Dr. Apt.rer.nat, Mochammad Yuwono, MS, during an online press conference some time ago.

The three pillars are closely related to consumer health and drug safety. To realize this, collaboration from all parties is needed to encourage innovation and improve the quality of domestic drugs," he added.

As done by the private sector, PT Merck Chemical and Life Science (MCLS) took an active role through the Merck Young Scientist Roadshow 2025 program. This activity is to encourage the advancement and innovation of the national pharmaceutical industry.

In this program, a series of activities are designed as a forum for inspiration in the field of science and innovation. Especially in the pharmaceutical field so that quality human resources can be created.

"Since 2018, we have collaborated with various universities in Indonesia to provide Young Scientist programs so that they can increase knowledge for students up to the production stage," said Head of Science and Lab Solutions of PT Merck Chemicals and Life Sciences, Diasti Lastarini.

"This initiative departs from our awareness that the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry will depend on a young generation that is competent and ready to face global challenges," he continued.

Manpower is combined with cross-sectoral collaboration, it is hoped that drug production and circulation in Indonesia will improve.

This is because basically the growth of the health industry relies on the quality of drugs meeting standards, which are maintained through laboratory tests that require human resources and quality tools.