JAKARTA - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the presence of the Biomedical and Genome Scienceatory (BGSi) laboratory and private pharmaceutical factory PT Etana in Indonesia marked the independence of this nation in the development of biotechnology-based drugs.
"The support in producing this biological drug is one of the efforts of the Ministry of Health in realizing health transformation," said Budi Gunadi Sadikin in Jakarta, Antara, Sunday, October 9.
The world trend in the last 10 years shows that biological-based drugs have dominated the market. Therefore, the government through the Ministry of Health encourages the development of drugs not only chemical-based, but also biology.
According to Budi, Indonesia is blessed with extraordinary biodiversity and genomic biodiversity, which is able to support the need for raw material for biotechnology development at a health biotechnology research center called BGSi in Jakarta.
It is said that the independence of domestic drug and vaccine production is evidenced by the birth of a vaccine with messenger RNA (mRNA)-based technology platform by PT Etana as the fruit of the development of a biotechnology-based industry.
Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin together with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Head of BPOM Penny K Lukito, accompanied Indonesian President Joko Widodo to inaugurate the biopharmacy factory PT Etana Biotechnology Indonesia, on Friday (7/10) in Jakarta.
Etana is an Indonesian biopharmaceutical company that has researched, produced, and marketed biological therapies for the Southeast Asian market since its founding in 2014 in Jakarta.
The facility is capable of producing biological therapies with halal certification from the Assembly
Indonesian Ulema (MUI).
Etana is led by a local management team originating from various educational backgrounds from outside and within the country and has strong experience in the biopharmacy industry, and is supported by a team of leading international investors and biopharmacies.
Etana is committed to research and the manufacture of monoclonal antibodies, mRNA, and other biological platforms.
“Hopefully in the future Indonesia will lead this biotechnology and Indonesia will become a developed country, ” he said.
The product produced by PT Etana Biotechnology Indonesia is the AWcorna vaccine, with an mRNA platform, which is a vaccine with the latest technology resulting from biotechnology development.
In the inauguration agenda, Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcomed PT Etana Biotechnology Indonesia in producing the first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in production in Southeast Asia.
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