Visit Etana, BPOM Supports The National Biotechnology Industry

Photo: Doc. Etana

JAKARTA - The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) visited the production facility of PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia as part of a commitment to support the development of the national biotechnology industry. This visit was attended directly by the Head of BPOM Taruna Ikrar, along with other BPOM officials and was welcomed by Nathan Tirtana, President Director of PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia.

"Thank you to the Head of BPOM and all the teams who have taken the time to come to Etana. This is an honor and pride for us," said Nathan, in his remarks at the Etana Office, Pulogadung, Jakarta, on Friday, September 27.

During his visit, Taruna expressed his appreciation for Etana's efforts to develop biotechnology products based on advanced technology. According to him, Etana is one of the national assets that deserves to be supported by the government.

"We consider that Etana Biotechnologies is our national asset. The assets of the Indonesian nation which are expected to need support from the government to get there, that's why we came here," said Taruna.

He added that the biological-based production technology developed by Etana has advantages over imported products whose costs are higher. In addition, the Etana facility that has met the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards is considered very good, even exceeding some existing requirements.

"Manufacturing is practically good. There are even some things that are actually not required by Etana to already have them. That's a plus," he said.

The Head of BPOM also gave a number of recommendations to Etana to continue to increase its production capacity, not only to meet domestic needs, but also for export purposes. He hopes that Etana can increase the number of productions by two to three times the current capacity in order to meet international demand.

"The impact of that must have dropped prices. If there is a lot of production, the price will definitely fall," said Taruna Ikrar.

In addition, the cadets also emphasized the importance of developing human resources (HR) in the biotechnology sector. According to him, the publication of scientific research results from researchers in Etana can help increase Indonesia's role in the global science scene.

Responding to the directive, Andreas Donny Prakasa, Head of Corporate Relations of PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia stated that Etana would seriously follow up on the direction of BPOM. One of the steps that will be taken is to expand production capacity and focus on exports and human resource development.

We will increase the capacity of the purpose for what? For exports. Not only for local needs but also for foreign needs or international needs. Etana will also focus on developing human resources to become a pioneer in the development of national biotechnology. In addition to conducting internal training, we invite experts from abroad, Etana also sends employees to hands-on directly abroad, "said Andreas.

In the future, Etana will also build new facilities that will be used to develop various vaccine production platforms and other biological products in Indonesia. With the support from BPOM, Etana hopes to continue to contribute in developing innovative and highly competitive biotechnology products, both in the domestic and international markets.