Indonesia Launches Prototype mRNA Dengue Vaccine

Indonesia has officially launched a prototype dengue fever vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The development is a collaboration between the Ministry of Health, the University of Indonesia (UI), Tsinghua University, PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia, and is supported by funding from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP). Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the vaccine’s development is part of the government’s effort to strengthen national vaccine independence and reduce reliance on imported products. “If this succeeds, it will be a new vaccine produced in Indonesia. It will also become the 16th antigen using the latest technology, which is mRNA,” Budi said during the prototype launch at the Ministry of Health building in Jakarta. Budi noted that Indonesia currently uses 15 antigens for its national vaccination programme, but only four are fully developed from research to production domestically. The rest are merely formulated or assembled using imported raw materials. Beyond achieving self-sufficiency in producing all antigens, the government aims to master two vaccine technology platforms not yet available in Indonesia: viral vector and mRNA. “My target is simple. Before President Prabowo’s term ends, we want Indonesia’s vaccine research and production capabilities to be much stronger,” Budi said. He revealed that the government currently spends around US$400-500 million annually on vaccine imports, highlighting the health benefits and economic potential of domestic vaccine development. Lead researcher Prof. Beti Ernawati Dewi from UI explained that the prototype is still in the pre-clinical stage. However, initial results show that the antibody response against the four dengue virus serotypes circulating in Indonesia is better than that of currently available commercial vaccines. The research team aims to begin initial human clinical trials in Indonesia within the next six months. Tsinghua University Vice President Prof. Wu Huaqiang said the collaboration strengthens Indonesia-China research cooperation in developing mRNA dengue vaccines. He outlined three main focuses: helping Indonesia build mRNA vaccine research capacity, strengthening local biotechnology talent through academic partnerships, and developing a collaboration model to address future infectious disease threats. Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Stella Christie explained that the research collaboration began in 2023, before she assumed her current role. She had connected UI researchers with Tsinghua University’s Prof. Zhang Linqi, seeing a match between Indonesia’s needs and the university’s expertise. Stella noted that the success demonstrates an ideal collaboration model between universities, industry, government, and funding agencies. She added that the government is now changing its research funding scheme, with around 50 percent of the national research budget to be focused on strategic priorities, including vaccine and medical device development. Head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) Taruna Ikrar said his agency was deliberately involved from the start of the research process to prevent registration hurdles later. “Don’t think of BPOM as just a rubber stamp. If we only come in at the end, many products end up being rejected because they didn’t meet standards from the beginning,” Taruna said. He noted that if successful, the vaccine could become the world’s first mRNA dengue vaccine. Research funding came from LPDP and PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia. LPDP allocated Rp7 billion, while PT Etana provided Rp9 billion, bringing the total research funding to Rp16 billion for prototype development and initial clinical trials. The programme is now in its second year and will continue into a third year. LPDP also revealed that its research endowment fund has reached approximately Rp14 trillion, with around Rp1 trillion available annually to support strategic national research, including vaccines and medical devices.