Indonesia’s Bio Farma has produced China’s Sinovac-based Covid-19 vaccine and will now start with mRNA doses Indonesia will start producing its own mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine after the World Health Organization (WHO) named the country as one of the beneficiaries of the transfer of mRNA-based vaccine technology from established pharmaceutical companies. On February 25, the Jakarta Globe quoted the country’s state-owned enterprise minister Erick Thohir as saying that it was widely seen as a signal of the WHO’s confidence in Indonesia as a hub for Covid-19 vaccine production in Southeast Asia. …
Indonesia will start producing its own mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine after the World Health Organization (WHO) named the country as one of the beneficiaries of the transfer of mRNA-based vaccine technology from established pharmaceutical companies.
This is widely seen as a signal of WHO’s confidence in Indonesia as a hub for Covid-19 vaccine production in Southeast Asia, Jakarta Globe The country’s state-owned enterprise minister, Erick Thohir, was quoted as saying on February 25.
State-run company PT Bio Farma will start producing mRNA doses, according to the minister, who did not name the brand. The company is one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the region, with an annual production capacity of 3.2 billion doses.
For years, Indonesia has sought global support to manufacture its own Covid-19 vaccine to vaccinate its population, the fourth largest in the world, and to ship the vaccine to neighboring countries. The lack of supply has led it to give half of the dose to its booster program to ensure it provides enough for all 270 million people.
“Solutions for Developing Countries”
Self-production of mRNA vaccines “is a solution that developing countries need, a solution that empowers us, a solution that enhances our self-reliance, a solution that enables us to contribute to global health resilience,” said Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi said on Twitter.
WHO is planning to establish technology transfer centers in developing countries to help them produce mRNA vaccines.
Its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the organization would share the technology with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam to increase the production and supply of vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa, WHO-backed scientists have developed a Covid-19 vaccine candidate that matches Moderna’s vaccine.
