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)