More research on biotechnology needed
More research on biotechnology needed
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian researchers should devote more time
and energy to developing pharmaceuticals through the use of
biotechnology, two cabinet officials concluded yesterday.
Minister of Health Sujudi and State Minister of Environment
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said that biotechnology has opened up the
possibility of safely tapping Indonesia's biodiversity.
Speaking at a seminar about the upcoming international
conference on biodiversity, both Sujudi and Sarwono argued that
Indonesia must reduce its heavy reliance on imported
pharmaceuticals. Indonesia imports 95 percent of its drugs.
Sujudi said that the production of traditional herbal
medicines should also be restricted because they rely on wild
plants that must be protected.
Biotechnology, he said, will help to produce better plants,
prevent extinction and ensure uniform quality.
Sarwono said "currently pharmaceuticals are still in the early
stage of technological transfer."
He said that the state of Indonesia's pharmaceutical industry
illustrates the contrast between the country's abundant natural
resources and its ignorance of how to tap their potential. "We
use such a small part of our natural wealth," Sarwono said.
Minister Sarwono has been promoting the international talks on
biodiversity for the past month. They will be held here from Nov.
4 to 17.
The Global Biodiversity Forum and the Second Conference of
Parties to the Biodiversity Convention, follow the results of the
1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Chairman of the Indonesian Science Institute, Soefjan Tsauri,
said ecologists have long regretted the lack of interest among
industrialists to help with conservation.
Soefjan said a lesson could be learned from the cooperation
between researchers, the private business sector and the
government in Costa Rica.
A Costa Rican conservation body, INBio, has signed a contract
with large pharmaceutical company Merck and Co. Ltd. The contract
entitles INBio to a two-year research fund and royalties on
profits from the development of medicines sold by Merck.
"Sustainable use of biodiversity can be conducted through
harmonious cooperation between the private sector, researchers
and the government," Soefjan said.
Soefjan said the World Health Organization lists more than
20,000 plant species with healing potential.
About 11 percent of these species, or 2,200 of them, are found
in Indonesia's tropical forests, Soefjan said.
He added that 14 tropical plants used as a base for medicines
widely sold in the United States are found in Indonesia's
forests.
They include Vinblastin and Vinchristine that are used against
cancer. Both drugs are developed from Catharanthus roseus,
locally known as tapak dara, he said. (anr)