Four COVID-19 Vaccines Have A Great Chance To Be Produced By Indonesia Starting 2022

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JAKARTA - As many as four COVID-19 vaccine candidates have a great chance of being produced domestically starting in 2022, said an official at the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).

"Currently there are four that have the possibility of leading to domestic production and progress has been seen," said Head of BPOM Penny K Lukito at the Commission IX Hearing Meeting (RDP) of the House of Representatives, quoted by Antara, Monday, November 8.

First, the Red and White vaccine developed by Universitas Airlangga (Unair) has entered the second preclinical stage. "The first phase using mice and the second using macaques has just been completed," he said.

According to Penny, the vaccine has entered the first phase of clinical trials starting in December 2021. It is estimated that the second and third clinical trials will be carried out simultaneously around January-February 2022.

"Hopefully the emergency use permit (EUA) can be issued around May or June 2022 until production or commercialization can be in June or July 2022," he said.

The next vaccine is being developed by Baylor Medical Collage in the form of a BUMN vaccine that has just completed its second preclinical, said Penny.

He said the vaccine with the subunit protein recombinant platform was heading to the first phase of clinical trials which was expected to roll out in December 2021.

"In the near future, EUA is expected to be published in June and production around July 2022," he said.

The Zifivax vaccine is the third variant which Penny is also expected to produce in the country next year. The recombinant protein vaccine, the sub-unit of cooperation between Bio Farma and Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, has received EUA from BPOM RI.

According to Penny Zifivax, it has gone through clinical trials in Indonesia and is confirmed to have domestic components managed at the Jakarta Biopharmaceutical (J-Bio) facility. "There will be a fill and finish production with PT Biotis around February 2022," he said.

Penny also ensures that there will be a transfer of production technology in the development of Zifivax in Indonesia in the long term because the producers build all production facilities in Indonesia.

The fourth vaccine is called ARCov, which is being developed by PT Etana Biotech in collaboration with Walfax Abogen with an mRNA platform.

"In February 2020 clinical trials will be conducted, but in February 2022, it is hoped that there will be a fill and finish with imported raw materials and in the long term there will also be upstream to downstream production at PT Etana," he said.