Indonesian-Made Vaccines Could Go Global—Here's Why
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia is optimistic that vaccine products manufactured in Indonesia can achieve strong sales in the international market. This confidence is underpinned by the emerging biopharmaceutical industry and the WHO Listed Authority (WLA) status attained by Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority (BPOM).
Director of Corporate Relations at PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia, Andreas Donny Prakarsa, stated that the global pharmaceutical industry is currently divided into two categories: the chemical medicine industry and the biological medicine industry. To date, biological medicines, including vaccines, have dominated the international pharmaceutical market.
According to him, Indonesia is reasonably competitive in the chemical medicine segment. However, significant challenges remain in catching up with other nations, given that Indonesia has yet to develop a strong basic chemical industry and requires substantial investment to strengthen the upstream sector.
Conversely, opportunities for Indonesia to enhance its biological medicine production capacity, such as vaccines, remain considerable. This is because biological medicines do not heavily depend on the availability of a basic chemical industry as a raw material supplier.
“This means there is significant potential for us to develop independently without excessive reliance. I believe no country in the world is truly independent. All nations depend on one another. But the question is: how much are we dependent? That is what we need to limit,” he said during a Health Forum themed “BPOM Achieves WLA Status—What Benefits for Business Operators?”, held on Friday (27/2/2026).
Consequently, vaccine products, as a component of biological medicines, can become instrumental in advancing Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry. This is supported by the presence of Indonesian scientists who have already developed vaccine seeds or strains and have experience in developing anti-cancer medications. From there, Indonesia simply needs to further develop the upstream sector and facilitate technology transfer to accelerate the production of biologically-based vaccines.
Furthermore, Prakarsa noted that BPOM’s achievement of WLA status represents a positive development for Indonesian vaccine products. This is because domestic scientists are now increasingly confident that their vaccine seed research and development outcomes will be more readily recognised by other nations, particularly once they become fully-fledged vaccine products.
Beyond internationally-recognised seeds, the inspection process for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) of Indonesian-manufactured vaccines will become easier when BPOM holds WLA status. Additionally, national vaccine products will more easily progress through the product registration phase with BPOM’s WLA designation.
“The WLA appears capable of breaking down non-tariff barriers. This means expansion will occur and Indonesia will become one of the world’s key points for supplying biological products,” he concluded.