Bio Farma Receives Red And White Vaccine Seeds Next Week, Direct Clinical Trials To Mammals

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Bio Farma (Persero) Honesti Basyir said that his party will receive the Red and White vaccine seeds from Eijkman in March or April.

Furthermore, Bio Farma will soon conduct clinical trials in Mammals as well as clinical trials from phase I to stage III.

"If all goes well, it is possible that we will be able to produce the red and white vaccine in the third quarter of 2022," said Honesti during a hearing (RDP) with Commission VI of the DPR at the DPR Building, Jakarta, Monday, March 29.

According to Honesti, the presence of the red and white vaccine is the government's effort to achieve independence in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, he said, Indonesia still depends on foreign vaccine producers, both importing finished vaccines and importing vaccine raw materials.

"This is to reduce dependence on imports and a strategy for self-reliance. If we rely on speed, we rely on vaccines and raw materials that we import," he said.

However, Honesti said the volunteer problem would be a challenge in clinical trials. Because he said, many people have received vaccinations so they cannot volunteer for clinical trials.

Even so, he said, Bio Farma would cooperate with neighboring countries to conduct joint clinical trials as a solution.

Previously, the Head of the Institute for Molecular Biology (LBM) Eijkman Amin Soebandrio had explained that the development of the Red and White vaccine had entered the deadline that had been targeted in March.

"At the end of March, we are already in the transition process of handing over the vaccine seeds to PT Bio Farma," he said Tuesday, March 16, 2021.

LBM Eijkman is one of six institutions that are developing the COVID-19 vaccine locally. The other five institutions are the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the University of Indonesia (UI), the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), and Airlangga University (Unair).

LBM Eijkman is also touted as the fastest Red and White vaccine developer compared to other institutions.