The Indonesian government officially announced the revocation of its public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy on December 30, 2022.
The revocation translates to the fact that there will no longer be any restrictions on community activities and mobility.
The decision to revoke the PPKM was taken based on a 10-month study and after considering the controlled COVID-19 situation in the country.
State-owned pharmaceutical holding PT Bio Farma (Persero) is aiming to use the momentum of the controlled pandemic situation to develop national health system resilience.
The company is determined to realize its commitment to uniting healthcare ecosystems onto a single platform in the future. It has also prepared a number of steps or strategies to develop the national healthcare ecosystem.
According to the president director of the company, Honesti Basyir, one of the momentums for the realization of the healthcare ecosystem has been the launch of IndoVac, the local COVID-19 vaccine made by Bio Farma.
This is because IndoVac symbolizes the independence of the national pharmaceutical industry.
The vaccine has a domestic component level (TKDN) of 95 percent and received emergency-use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) in September 2022.
One of the efforts that Bio Farma has made for building the healthcare ecosystem has been the construction of a new factory over an area of 3.2 hectares in Karawang, West Java. The factory will be equipped with biotechnology devices of the highest standards to make it the largest such factory in Southeast Asia.
In addition, Bio Farma is cooperating with American pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) on technology transfer for producing the 4-valent human papillomavirus (4vHPV) vaccine in Indonesia.
Bio Farma has also made efforts to boost the resilience of national pharmaceutical health systems through global collaboration in 2022, namely with British company Profactor Pharma.
Under the cooperation, Bio Farma has obtained exclusive rights to jointly develop recombinant factor VIII blood products globally.
Further, Bio Farma is currently consolidating its services to help form an integrated healthcare ecosystem. The integration of the healthcare ecosystem is necessary to strengthen Indonesia’s health system resilience and self-sufficiency.
Basyir said that an integrated transformation in the health sector will answer three big issues in the health system concerning product availability in the country, the community’s access, and affordable prices.
The healthcare ecosystem will later be integrated into a super-app called Mediverse or Medical Universe. The application will connect online patients with online and offline clinics. It will also include clinic, laboratory, and hospital networks spread across Indonesia.
Though it has been operational for more than 100 years, Bio Farma has no plans to rest on its laurels because, as a holding company, it needs to maintain its success, improve its values, and create its growth story so that it does not vanish into obscurity or get carried away by past glory, Basyir said.
This year is projected to be the year when Bio Farma proves itself in transforming into a prominent life science company, both at the local and global levels.
Prescription for 2024
Bio Farma is targeting to fully realize the healthcare transformation by 2024 by using the opportunity presented by the community’s improved awareness regarding health due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company has guaranteed the security of user data for the digital application services it is developing in order to strengthen national health system resilience.
Director of transformation and digital at Bio Farma, Soleh Ayubi, said that Bio Farma’s security system is one of the strongest in Indonesia.
To ensure data security in the community medical services managed by it, Bio Farma is cooperating and coordinating closely with the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN).
In addition, Bio Farma is collaborating with several global technology and health companies, such as Google Cloud, Fitbit, and ConnectedLife, on the latest digital health innovations.
It is also implementing the regulations of the Personal Data Protection Law to prevent breaches of consumer data.
Ayubi highlighted that the infrastructure and safety standards used by Bio Farma, both in terms of the production of pharmaceutical products and digital services, comply with globally recognized standards.
“We have a (cybersecurity) defense and offense team. The cybersecurity is tested gradually and there is no (data) leak,” he said.
Currently, Bio Farma is intensively developing end-to-end services for the health sector, including pharmaceutical research and development, manufacturing, and distribution as well as operating retail pharmacies, clinics, and clinical laboratories through a digital system called the Healthcare Ecosystem.
Bio Farma is also developing a website-based business-to-business (B2B) drug and medical devices marketplace called Medicine Distribution Business Zone (Medbiz).
Medbiz will be connected to several medicine and health equipment distributor networks across Indonesia to enable its customers to find quality health products.
“The (business) potential of this healthcare service is enormous, both in Indonesia and overseas. We will take advantage of this momentum to immensely transform (our services) through digital technology,” he added.
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