BPOM Bridges University Research and Industry Through BRIDGE Feature

The downstream development of research has long faced several challenges, including the lack of strong links between researchers and industry.

Mataram (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) is encouraging universities and research institutions to bring their findings to market as commercially valuable products through its BRIDGE feature.

Imelda Ester Riana, BPOM’s Director of Registration for Traditional Medicines, Health Supplements and Cosmetics, said BRIDGE was created to connect researchers with businesses to develop research findings into products.

“It would be a shame if we did not use our research findings, so now we want to put them to use,” she said at an outreach event at the University of Mataram in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Thursday.

Imelda said research commercialisation had faced several obstacles, including weak ties between researchers and industry. Industry needs innovation, she said, while universities hold many research findings with development potential.

The mechanism allows researchers to offer their findings to businesses, while also giving companies a way to communicate research needs that researchers could pursue.

“So now the feature works in two ways. First, research findings can be offered to businesses. Second, businesses can say what they need, so researchers can carry out the research,” Imelda said.

She added that research submitted to BRIDGE need not be limited to a particular type: it can include undergraduate theses, master’s dissertations, doctoral dissertations, journal papers or preliminary studies.

Dian Putri Anggraweni, BPOM’s Director of Standardisation for Traditional Medicines, Health Supplements and Cosmetics, said researchers needed to understand regulatory requirements from the outset so their findings could be developed in line with the relevant product categories and rules.

Through BRIDGE, BPOM is also encouraging researchers to consider regulatory requirements early, increase the economic value of their research until it becomes market-ready, and gain access to industry partnerships that can lead to products registered with BPOM.

For businesses, BRIDGE is intended to make it easier to identify innovations, reduce research and development time, and find product candidates with commercial potential.