"In general, we should be able to replace all medicinal raw materials," Head of BRIN Laksana Tri Handoko stated in Jakarta, Monday.
The agency head explained that Indonesia is rich in biodiversity, with around 30 thousand species identified, though the number of standardized herbal medicines is still low, at only 76 medicines.
He believes that if this biodiversity can be optimized, then it can enable Indonesia to achieve medicine and health sovereignty.
Thus, he affirmed that medicine shortages that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic era would not recur.
"That (medicinal raw materials offer) sovereignty and resilience in this modern era, which is actually much more important than just war," Handoko remarked.
Related news: Indonesia's medicine export value increases 8.78 percent: Ministry
He stated that processing natural raw materials into medicines required a fairly long process, not only from the research aspect but also from the point of view of technology development.
Handoko said several plants are known to be raw materials for paracetamol, but creating the machine that can process it consistently has remained a challenge.
Handoko admitted to continuing to seek collaborations in the healthy industry, so that Indonesia can produce medicines and health devices independently by using these biodiversity resources.
"The machine industry does not exist in Indonesia. That is why we must have partners with the manufacturing industry," he remarked.
Related news: Govt to support development of herbal medicines, phytopharmaceuticals
Translator: Asri Mayang Sari
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
