Cooperation or collaboration can be conducted in innovation and research to produce health industry products, such as medicinesJakarta (ANTARA) - Vidjongtius, the president director of PT Kalbe Farma Tbk, highlighted the need for the domestic health industry to collaborate with other stakeholders to become independent in meeting the health sector’s requirements.
"Cooperation or collaboration can be conducted in innovation and research to produce health industry products, such as medicines," Vidjongtius remarked at the Investor Daily Summit monitored online here on Thursday.
The president director noted that research in the discovery of drug therapy took a long time, so it necessitated collaboration to expedite the process.
"For instance, research innovation to find new molecules and new technologies. If we cannot do it ourselves, we can build collaborations among academia, business, government, and the community," Vidjongtius stated.
Substantial investment from upstream to downstream was necessary for the domestic health industry to become independent, according to the president director. He cited an example of the collaboration conducted by Kalbe Farma during clinical trials of immunomodulators for COVID-19 patients.
The clinical trial process can be conducted faster through collaboration as averse to singlehandedly. Kalbe Farma also collaborated for the implementation of clinical trials of the COVID-19 GX-19N vaccine.
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Secretary General of the Health Ministry Oscar Primadi emphasized the need for independent development to cater to the needs of the health industry sector. For instance, the requirement for pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the country.
The goal is to end Indonesia’s dependence on imported raw materials for medicines or medical devices from abroad in the midst of a health crisis currently battering the country. Oscar drew attention to the varied efforts made by the government to lower dependence on the imports of medicinal raw materials.
"The COVID-19 crisis has turned out to be a lesson for Indonesia to do more than usual. The pharmaceutical health service industry, domestic medical devices, and pharmaceutical products are essential to ensure national security," Primadi stated.
The secretary general believes that Indonesia’s pharmaceutical and medical device industry had the capacity to drive production in order to meet the requirements of the health sector.
Out of the total 19 types of medical devices included in the top 10 transactions based on the value and number of products, almost 90 percent can be produced domestically.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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