Jakarta – The Indonesian federal government has actually hinted at the country’s native Merah Putih (Red-and-White) vaccine candidate projected to enter its preclinical trial stage on animals in Dec 2020.
The first phase of its clinical trial on people can be carried out in the first quarter of 2021, Research and Innovation Minister, simultaneously Chairman of the National Agency for Research Study and Development Bambang P. S. Brodjonegoro specified.
” The Merah Putih vaccine candidate is established by using the Indonesian isolate SARS-CoV-2 virus,” he noted in a press statement that ANTARA estimated here on Thursday.
Indonesia’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate is developed by researchers from the Jakarta-based Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and four prominent public universities.
The leading universities consist of the University of Indonesia (UI), Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Airlangga University (Unair), and Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
Unlike the vaccine prospects that China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Sinopharm Ltd develop by using attenuated viruses, the Merah Putih vaccine prospect is established by utilizing the recombinant, deoxyribonucleic acid, and ribonucleic acid platform.
Brodjonegoro had earlier highlighted that the Merah Putih vaccine prospect is developed to secure COVID-19 vaccine stocks to meet the country’s need for vaccination in the medium- and long-term.
The Indonesian government is making every effort to secure COVID-19 vaccine stocks for the short-, medium-, and long-term through a double-track system involving cooperation with abroad partners and developing its own vaccine.
Indonesia’s cooperation with abroad partners for securing the supply of COVID-19 vaccines targets satisfying the nation’s need for vaccination in the short-term, Brodjonegoro mentioned.
The 2nd method adopted by the government to secure the medium- and long-term availability of the vaccine is supporting the advancement of the indigenous Merah Putih vaccine prospect, he revealed.
Over the course of the past few months, the Indonesian government has actually been striving to make sure sufficient supply of vaccines for the whole country.
Indonesia has actually likewise provided an expression of interest to join the COVAX Initiative, co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), and Coalition for Epidemic Readiness Innovations (CEPI).
The COVAX Initiative aims to deal with vaccine producers to guarantee that all supporting countries worldwide have quick and fair access to safe, reliable, and inexpensive COVID-19 vaccines, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had actually kept in mind recently.
Through the COVAX scheme, participating rich nations will be funding the COVID-19 vaccine development procedure from their national spending plans and teaming up with 92 middle- and low-income nations through voluntary donations to ensure fair circulation of the vaccine.
The COVAX Effort, which presently consists of nine prospect vaccines established through varied technologies and scientific techniques, is aimed at obtaining and supplying two billion doses of authorized vaccines by the end of 2021.
The Indonesian Health Ministry had actually just recently tattooed a letter of intent (LoI) with British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC to secure 100 million dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
Indonesia’s cooperation with the British pharmaceutical company belongs to the ventures to protect materials of COVID-19 vaccines, under which it had earlier signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Sinopharm Ltd.
Currently, scientists globally are leaving no stone unturned to ensure timely development and production of safe and reliable COVID-19 vaccines. To this end, Indonesia has revealed concerns over the risks and uncertainties referring to their development, Marsudi stated.
Indonesia has actually unswervingly drawn focus to the significance of having safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, the minister stated throughout an online interview from Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.
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