ITB Pharmacy Faculty Professor Prof. Dr. apt. Elfahmi Elected Rector of Itera for 2026–2030
Prof. Dr. apt. Elfahmi, a Professor at the School of Pharmacy (SF) of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and concurrently ITB’s Director of Research and Innovation, has been elected Rector of the Sumatera Institute of Technology (Itera) for 2026–2030. His election is a vote of confidence in his leadership capacity, academic experience, and contributions to R&D and innovation development in Indonesia.
He is known as an academic active in research in natural product pharmacology and Indonesian herbal medicines. During his career at ITB, he contributed to education, research, the downstreaming of innovation, and the development of collaborative research with impact for national health industry.
Currently, Elfahmi also serves as ITB’s Director of Research and Innovation. In that role, he actively pushes to strengthen research ecosystems, innovation, and downstreaming research results to provide real benefits to society and to support national independence, especially in health.
One of Elfahmi’s notable contributions: winning an award from the Indonesian Ministry of Health at the Health Innovation Festival (Hai Fest) 2024 for developing reference compound from medicinal plants to support quality of herbal medicines in Indonesia.
Research developed by Elfahmi and team since 2019 via RISPRO LPDP program produced a marker compound for standardization of herbal products. The innovation later grew into spin-off product MarkHerb providing marker compounds for research needs and standardization of national herbal medicines. This innovation is important because it helps reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imported products used in herbal research and industry.
Additionally, he founded PT EBM Saintifik dan Teknologi (EBM Scitech), a research-based company developing various phytochemical products, nutraceuticals, herbal cosmetics, and laboratory equipment. This is part of downstreaming ITB’s research to be utilized broadly by society and national industry.
In various occasions Elfahmi emphasizes the importance of downstreaming Indonesian natural product research. He argues Indonesian biodiversity potential should be optimized through collaboration among higher education, industry, government, and regulators to produce health products that are independent and globally competitive.
Prof. Dr. apt. Elfahmi is a Professor in the Pharmaceutical Biology group, ITB’s School of Pharmacy. He earned his S1 at Universitas Andalas, Padang, in 1993. He completed his MSc at ITB in 1997, and earned his PhD from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, in 2006.
Throughout his academic career, Elfahmi actively conducts research in natural product pharmacology, medicinal plant biotechnology, nutraceuticals, and development of anti-diabetes and anti-malaria herbal medicines. He is involved in national and international research programs focusing on exploring Indonesian biodiversity for health development and nature-based industries.
His election as Itera Rector 2026–2030 is a source of pride for ITB’s academic community. His leadership and experience in higher education, research, and innovation are expected to drive Itera to become a more advanced technology university, collaborative, and impactful for national development.