The Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices in collaboration with the Tony Blaire Institute held a Learning and Development Workshop meeting in Jakarta, April 12, 2023.Indonesia's life sciences industry produces many of the essential medicines needed by the health system and provides a strong foundation of care. However, to improve the value chain of the life sciences industry and healthcare delivery, Indonesia must support and encourage higher levels of innovation.
Only 9% of new drugs launched since 2012 are available in Indonesia and only 4% of all clinical trials in Southeast Asia have been conducted in Indonesia, despite having 44% of the region's population. In 2018, Indonesia managed only 414 clinical trials compared to 2,300 in Thailand.
Indonesia has the potential to become a clinical trial center for Southeast Asia, and even the world. With the right action plan, the Indonesian Ministry of Health will attract more international, regional and local clinical trial programs for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and medical devices and become a hub of life sciences innovation.
To realize this, a briefing is needed to improve the ability of Clinical Trials in Indonesia, therefore the Indonesian Ministry of Health through the Directorate General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices in collaboration with the Tony Blaire Institute held a Learning and Development Workshop meeting.
The purpose of this event was to provide Indonesian stakeholders with the opportunity to learn from leading international experts and practitioners about the capacity, capabilities and policies needed to develop clinical trial capabilities in Indonesia.
The activity which took place at the Westin Hotel on April 12, 2023 took place offline and online through the zoom meeting media and was attended by participants representing the Indonesian Ministry of Health, participants representing Institutions, participants representing domestic University Deans, and participants representing domestic pharmaceutical companies.
Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices L. Rizka Andalusia had the opportunity to open this activity offline. In her opening remarks she said. "It is a priority of the Ministry of Health to improve the quality and quantity of vaccines, therapies and innovative diagnostics available in Indonesia, as part of our Health Transformation Agenda".
She also added that the Indonesian Ministry of Health is determined to improve the capabilities of Indonesia's local clinical trial base and to attract more country-sponsored trials.
The topics covered at this meeting were:
- Ecosystem and policy needs required of multinational clinical trial sponsors.
- Site selection and barriers to CT implementation (multi-center, multinational) from the viewpoint of clinical operations.
- What multinational companies look for in countries when planning clinical trial programs.
- What multinational companies look for in countries when planning clinical trial programs.
- Global clinical trial implementation experiences and best practices.
- Collaborative Clinical Trials in Indonesia: challenges and potential benefit-sharing solutions.
- Improving the clinical trial environment
- Best Practice in facilitating clinical trials in Malaysia.
- What is needed from a technology, infrastructure, policy and human resource perspective to manage a world-class central laboratory?
- Capacity building and process improvement of clinical research, learning in low-income and lower-middle income countries.
- Readiness of the MOH to facilitate clinical trials (including the INA-RESPOND network).
