Research has been carried out and completed and the extract from the plant had been handed over by state Airlangga University (Unair) to the state pharmaceutical company Indofarma , Dr Bambang Prajogo, the researcher from the university.
"That means the pills will be ready to go to the market soon," Dr Bambang told Antara news agency here on Sunday.
Unair`s Deputy Rector Prof. Achmad Syahrani already handed over the purified ethanol extract of Gandarusa to the president of PT Indofarma Elfiano Rizaldi in a ceremony here on Saturday.
On the sidelines of the 50th ceremony of reunion of alumnus of the pharmaceutical faculty of the university attended by leaders of state pharmaceutical companies including PT Indofarma and PT Kimia Farma, and relater government agencies, Dr Bambang said the handover of the extract marked the start of further process at the hands of industrialists such as in securing the production and distribution licenses.
The family planning pills would be a kind of herbal medicine and it has been tested on human being, he said.
"We have carried out research since 1985 and it was finished in 2013 or in 28 years," he said.
He said the research was completed relatively fast, adding in other countries, such research could take up to 100 years.
He said the research has cost great sacrifice and a lot of money as the plant was found in the interior of Papua .
He said his interest in starting research began when he knew the plant had already been used by local people to delay pregnancy.
"I carried out research in four phases. The first phase research was general on ordinary people, followed by a second phase on fertile age pairs," he said
In the second phase, research involved 120 pairs of fertilize age husbands and wives with the men taking the pills everyday in 108 days.
"The result was 100 percent successful with no pregnancy among the 120 women," he said.
In the third phase, research involved 350 fertile age pairs with men taking the pills every day in 30 days and the result was 99.96 percent successful, he added.
"Then I handed over to the industry," he said, adding "but I would continue with the fourth phase cutting the days of taking the pills to 15 days."
He said in Papua, the traditional people use Gandarusa plant only with interval of several hours.
"Distribution of the pills would be made in cooperation with the Family Planning Board (BKKPN) and dispensaries will sell it to patients only a doctor`s prescription that they may not be misused," he said.
Separately, PT Indofarma president Elfiano Rizaldi said distribution of the Gandarusa family planning pills for men involves Unair, Indofarma, and BKKBN.
"The extract already handed over is only a sample. We have yet to carry out test on industrial laboratory scale which normally takes 3-6 months to be followed with stability test," Elfiano said.
In the process of stability test, Indofarma would seek registration with the food and drug watchdog (POM), he said.
"Normally the distribution license for herbal medicines comes easier. God willing, next year the license would be issued and the pills could be distributed to the people," he said.
He said the family planning pills for men will be in capsules and the distribution would be in cooperation with BKKBN, which has the networks.
Distribution of the pills in the public would depend on the BKKBN as the distribution of family planning pills for women also began from the agency, he said
On the sidelines of the reunion of alumnus of the Unair pharmaceutical faculty , deputy rector of the university Prof. Achmad Syahrani said the result of the research of family planning pills from Gandarusa plant for men constitutes another contribution of the Unair to nation.
"Earlier, we handed over the material for bird flu vaccine to the government and now we directly hand over the family planning pills for men to a state company. Hopefully the contributions of Unair will promote the image of the country internationally," he said. (*)
(T.SYS/A/H-ASG/F001) 18-08-2013 13:29:54
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
