"Fomepizole has become a part of the medication therapy and it is being given for free to patients. We do not conduct drug commercialization," the ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammad Syahril, said at an online press conference on Friday.
The use of fomepizole has had a positive impact on acute kidney injury patients, with 95 percent of the patients at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) here showing improving progress while receiving the therapy.
This means that fomepizole has good efficacy in curing and reducing symptoms, he explained.
A total of 246 fomepizole vials have arrived in Indonesia and 146 have been distributed to 17 hospitals in 11 provinces, while 100 vials have been kept as central reserves.
"We are quite fortunate that there are currently 246 fomepizole vials that already arrived in Indonesia wherein most of them or 87 percent of them are free donation from other countries," Syahril said.
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The hospitals that have received fomepizole include Zainoel Abidin Hospital, Aceh; Prof Dr. I.G.N.G. Ngoerah Hospital, Bali; Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta; and Harapan Kita Hospital, Fatmawati Hospital, and RSCM in Jakarta.
They further comprise Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Dr. Hafiz Hospital, and Hermina Mekarsari Hospital in West Java; Bangli Hospital and Dr. Saiful Anwar Hospital in East Java; Dr. Soedarso Hospital in West Kalimantan; and Kuala Pembuang Hospital in Central Kalimantan.
They also include Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, South Sulawesi; Dr. M Djamil Hospital, West Kalimantan; Dr. Mohammad Hoesin Hospital, South Sumatra; and H. Adam Malik Hospital, North Sumatra.
During the event on Friday, Syahril also highlighted that the number of atypical progressive acute kidney injury cases in Indonesia has reached 323 as of November 3, 2022.
Related news: Acute kidney injury cases see significant decline: Ministry
Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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