Indonesian Foreign Minister Endorses Bio Farma Covid-19 Vaccine

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has delivered a ringing endorsement of Bio Farma, as the state-owned pharmaceutical company prepares to mass produce a Covid-19 vaccine for Indonesia.

“Bio Farma has been praised by the international community for the quality of its Covid-19 vaccines, and its ability to produce them in considerable quantities,” Retno said in a virtual press conference during her visit to London on October 14.

Also read: Covid-19 Vaccine from China Will Cost Around $13, Says Indonesia's Bio Farma

She added that this is reflected by the very good results of a due diligene carried out by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations or CEPI.

“Based on the results, CEPI expressed their wish to work together with Bio Farma. The due diligence results also cleared the way for the company to fulfill Indonesia’s wish to manufacture a readily available vaccine for the country and the rest of the world.”

Retno added that Indonesia has expressed its wish to be on CEPI’s Investors Council. “The Indonesian government is still discussing the amount of its contribution to CEPI,” Retno said.

Also read: Indonesia Hopes to Begin Administering Covid-19 Vaccines by November 2020 

CEPI carried out a due diligence of Bio Farma to determine its ability to deliver a safe, affordable Covid-19 vaccine. CEPI based the due diligence on a number of criteria, including the production system for the vaccine and its quality, the laboratory’s analytical systems, and the information technology systems Bio Farma used in producing the vaccine.

The Indonesian government also hired an expert from Europe in its bid to increase Bio Farma’s ability to produce a Covid-19 vaccine from 100 million to 250 million doses annually. Aside from mass producing the vaccine, Bio Farma is set to carry out technology transfers with its foreign counterparts like Cansino, G42/Sinopharm and Sinovac.

(Writer: Rakhmat Nur Hakim | Editor : Kristian Erdianto)

Source:

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/10/14/22013541/menlu-sebut-kualitas-produksi-vaksin-bio-farma-diakui-secara-internasional.