BPOM and Ubaya Strengthen Research and Pharmaceutical Industry Collaboration

The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) and the University of Surabaya (Ubaya) are strengthening research and pharmaceutical industry collaboration through synergy between academics, business, and government to accelerate the downstreaming of innovation and the development of health products beneficial to the public. “We are confident that technology transfer and the development of innovative products can be accelerated so that the benefits are immediately felt by the community through the Academic, Business, Government (ABG) concept,” said Head of BPOM RI Taruna Ikrar during a public lecture and signing of a memorandum of understanding at Ubaya on Monday. Taruna said many university research results have the potential to answer community needs, particularly in the health sector. These innovative products need to be encouraged to reach the public more quickly while still guaranteeing their safety, quality, and efficacy. “Some of these innovative products are very essential for the community. Including those related to various kinds of treatments, especially for diseases that have been difficult to cure,” he said. He added that Indonesia has great biodiversity potential to be developed into medicinal raw materials. There are around 31,000 types of plants that have the potential to become sources for research-based pharmaceutical product development. “We hope that research into this biodiversity potential continues to be carried out by universities so that they can produce products that are safe, of high quality, and beneficial to the community,” he said. To accelerate the downstreaming of innovation, BPOM has prepared a number of regulatory breakthroughs. One of them is through a conditional approval scheme for innovative products that are urgently needed by the community. According to Taruna, this policy allows products that have met safety aspects and shown effectiveness at a certain stage to gain faster access to the community while continuing to collect further clinical data. In addition, BPOM has cut the evaluation time for product licensing from 300 working days to 210 working days. The government is also providing registration facilities for micro and small enterprises, particularly for processed food products. Taruna mentioned that there are currently around 1,700 research products in various stages of development in Indonesia. Of that number, around 134 products have shown significant progress, including therapies for cancer, critical illnesses, and a number of rare diseases. “The most important thing is how these research results can reach the community while still guaranteeing their safety, efficacy, and quality,” he said. Meanwhile, Ubaya Rector Dr Benny Lianto said East Java still needs clinical trial facilities to support the development of new drugs. He said Ubaya has initiated the development of a clinical trial unit to support the needs of the pharmaceutical industry in East Java. The presence of this facility is expected to complement the pharmaceutical industry ecosystem in the region. According to Benny, collaboration between BPOM, universities, and industry has the potential to strengthen the health research and innovation ecosystem in East Java.