Meeting and launching of the OIC CoE network laboratory in Jakarta, September 15, 2022The resolution of the 6th Session of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM) in 2017 has appointed Indonesia as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Center of Excellence (CoE) on Vaccine and Biotechnology Products. This appointment is to support research and development of vaccines and biotechnology products to meet the needs of OIC members.
Based on this appointment, in 2018 the OIC CoE was officially launched in Jakarta by the Minister of Health with PT Bio Farma as the OIC CoE Laboratory.
Activities of the OIC CoE include: capacity building in vaccine production and quality control, research on innovative vaccine development, vaccine development among OIC member countries, and research and development for other biotechnology products.
As a form of collaboration between OIC countries, the Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the OIC (COMSTECH), an organization within the OIC that aims to strengthen cooperation among OIC member countries in science and technology, has proposed the placement of 4 interns from Egypt and Pakistan at Bio Farma, which is an OIC CoE Laboratory.
This program is part of the COMSTECH Fellowship for Research and Advance Training in Virology and Vaccine Technologies which aims to increase the capacity of researchers in OIC countries.
In connection with this, on September 15, 2022, the Ministry of Health held a meeting and launched the OIC CoE network laboratory, in addition to PT Bio Farma, which had previously become the OIC CoE laboratory on vaccine and biotechnology products.
This is a form of supporting Indonesia as an OIC CoE and achieving the expected goal of independence in the production of vaccines and biotechnology products.
The OIC-CoE network laboratories consist of:
- PT Biofarma R&D Laboratory
- Central Laboratory, Padjadjaran University
- Research Center for Vaccine Development Technology, LPT Airlangga University
- Bioanalytical Laboratory of University of Indonesia - Daewoong Foundation
- Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI), University of Indonesia
- Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK), Gadjah Mada University
- Integrated Research and Testing Laboratory (LPPT), Gadjah Mada University
- Center for Vaccine and Drug Research (PRVO), Center for Health Research Organization, BRIN
- PT Kalbio Global Medika R&D Laboratory
- R&D Laboratory of PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin in his remarks expressed his hope that the fellowships will take advantage of this good opportunity to explore every potential that Indonesia has to be further researched and developed to increase vaccine production and health biotechnology.
The COMSTECH Fellowship program was held for 5 weeks from August 30 to October 4, 2022 in 3 locations:
- Entry briefing in Jakarta and industry visits for vaccines, biotechnology and cancer products (PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia, PT Kalbio Global Medika, and PT Fonko International Pharmaceuticals).
- Internship at PT Bio Farma facilities, Bandung and Padjajaran University central laboratory, Jatinangor which is filled with the provision of related material (theory) and workshops (wet lab) to understand vaccine production from upstream to downstream and quality control processes.
- A visit to the Red and White Vaccine (VMP) development facility at Airlangga University, Surabaya.
