Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

[Gert van der Hoek]

RI gearing up to produce bird flu vaccines
Jakarta (ANTARA News) -

Indonesia is gearing up for the self-production of bird flu vaccines for human beings, an official has said.

"The results of a study suggest that only Vietnam and Indonesia have good vaccine seeds. It will be illogical if we import the vaccines at a high price.

We must be able to produce them ourselves," Amin Soebandrio, chief of the panel of experts at the Indonesian National Commission for Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, said here Monday.

The government was trying to produce the vaccines by itself to reduce its
dependence on foreign suppliers, he said.

He added, however, that the government did not have adequate expertise, technology and human resources, and thus it would first develop seasonal influenza vaccines.

"A company is allowed to produce pandemic vaccines if it has the experience in producing seasonal influenza vaccines. We have the Bio Farma that is experienced in making vaccines but is not in producing seasonal influenza vaccines. So, we must be prepared to do so," he said.

Bio Farma was exploring a possibility of cooperation with the Japanese
government to improve its expertise in producing seasonal influenza vaccines, he said.

"Negotiations on non technical matters are still underway. We will begin to
construct a plant next year at the latest. Hopefully, the plant will conduct its
trial production in 2008 so it will begin to produce such vaccines in 2009," he
said.

The government must be able to produce bird flu vaccines on its own to meet
domestic demand when pandemic influenza occurred, he said.

If pandemic influenza occurred, Indonesia, with a population of more than 220 million, would require at least 110 million doses of bird flu vaccines to
protect the people against influenza virus infection of type A and sub-type H5N1 with a high pathogen, he said.

"If each dose of vaccine is priced at an average of US$10, how much will we
spend on the vaccines and from where can we buy them? The existing vaccine producer has so far produced only two million doses of vaccines a week," he said.

To date, bird flu has claimed 57 lives in Indonesia.

The World Bank estimated Indonesia needed about US$120 million to carry out a vaccination program properly and give adequate compensation to farmers whose poultry had been culled. (*)

http://www.antara.co.id/en/seenws/?id=24893

 

[gsgs]

Re: Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

"It will be illogical if we import the vaccines at a high price. "


"If each dose of vaccine is priced at an average of US$10, how much will we
spend on the vaccines and from where can we buy them? The existing vaccine producer has so far produced only two million doses of vaccines a week,"


they could as well consider exporting the vaccine, when they are able to produce it.
So you have to wonder, whether this announcement is indeed economically motivated
or politically.

And it takes until 2009. I've seen several other companies who are expected to
have vaccine by that time.
At least it doesn't seem to imply that they are motivated by actual developments
but more by longterm planning.

 

[Commonground]

Bio Farma was ready to get up the Flu Vaccine Factory

Bio Farma was ready to get up the Flu Vaccine Factory

Bio Farma was ready to get up the Flu Vaccine Factory

Bandung -- MIOL: PT Bio Farma will in the near future develop and build the factory of the flu vaccine that was preparations to be able to produce the bird flu vaccine (avian influenza).

"The plan as the step" in "early to face the bird flu pandemic, if Bio Farma could have produced the flu vaccine then to the front not the difficulty of could carry out the procurement faksin bird flu," said Director Pemasaran PT Bio Farma, Sarimudin Sulaeman, was accompanied by the Head of public relations Teddy the Hero in Bandung, on Sunday (1/4).

To build the factory of the flu vaccine, Bio Farma will buy his technology from a vaccine company in Japan.
Whereas for the development of the bird flu vaccine will be carried out in the form of help through Bappenas.
However he did not name how much investment that was needed for the development of the new vaccine factory.
But that was clear will be carried out constructively the new building for his production.
"His value of investment still could not be sent now, but at least the development" of "this factory of the flu vaccine was just right, so as in the future still will not depend the other factory," he said.

In the future, was aimed at the factory of the flu vaccine will get the licence from WHO where at this time as in the case of that was given to six companies multi national at this time.

"In the future was hoped Bio Farma could overcome the requirement" for the "bird flu vaccine to domestic."
This plan was very strategic, he said.
The process of his production, continued he, could be carried out by Bio Farma with bought 'bulk' (the vaccine material) bird flu from overseas afterwards was carried out by the production finishing by BUMN.
He also hoped with the existence of the factory and the bird flu of the flu vaccine, could press the price of the vaccine for the domestic requirement.
The "price" of the "vaccine just was usually high, but if having the" player" just "usually more could be saved," he said.

It was further that Sarimudin Sulaeman said, the production of the Bio Farma vaccine apart from satisfying the national requirement also exported his vaccine product overseas.
He mentioned, one of the countries that used the Bio Farma vaccine product was India.
The country was in South Asia recorded used the Bio Farma vaccine of product polio around 60 percent of the national requirement or around 400 million to 450 million doses each year.
"He thought around Rp225 billion."
We sold him in the form of 'bulk' henceforth was processed again by the production company of the vaccine there, he said.
Bio Farma, continued Sarimudin, was one of the companies of the polio vaccine that got the licence from WHO.
http://www.media-indonesia.com/berita.asp?id=129016

 

[Niko]

Re: Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

See this thread for more information:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8884&highlight=farma

 

[vinny]

Re: Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

i thought they couldnt make a vaccine until they new what the pandemic(if there is one)strain was.?

 

[Niko]

Re: Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

i thought they couldnt make a vaccine until they new what the pandemic(if there is one)strain was.?

As I understand this quote from the article, the flu vax factory would be for human seasonal flu with the anticipation that it would be used for pandemic flu when needed.

"The plan as the step" in "early to face the bird flu pandemic, if Bio Farma could have produced the flu vaccine then to the front not the difficulty of could carry out the procurement faksin bird flu," said Director Pemasaran PT Bio Farma, Sarimudin Sulaeman, was accompanied by the Head of public relations Teddy the Hero in Bandung, on Sunday (1/4).

 

[Sonny]

Re: Indonesia to produce human BF vaccine

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=indonesia-egypt-to-develo&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters
April 05, 2007

Indonesia, Egypt to develop bird flu vaccine
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</td> <td class="captionText" align="left"> Indonesia, Egypt to develop bird flu vaccine Chickens are put on sale at a poultry market in Xiangfan, central China's Hubei province March 29, 2007. Egyptian vaccine maker Vacsera is looking to team up with an Indonesian company to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans, an Egyptian minister and a company official said late on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stringer </td> </tr> </tbody></table> JAKARTA (Reuters) - Egyptian vaccine maker Vacsera is looking to team up with an Indonesian company to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans, an Egyptian minister and a company official said late on Wednesday.


Indonesia has the world's highest death toll from bird flu with 72 fatalities from the H5N1 virus. A 15-year-old girl tested positive for the virus on Thursday.
Egypt has recorded 32 human cases, 13 of them fatal, the highest figures for any country outside Asia.

<script language="JavaScript">
<!-- DisplayAds ("Middle,Top,x01!Middle"); //--> </script> "With regard to avian flu, the Egyptian company involved in cooperation for producing or manufacturing a vaccine with Indonesia is Vacsera," Egypt's minister of international cooperation, Fayza Aboulnaga, told a news conference.
Vacsera's chief, Salwa Seddik, said the firm had approached Indonesian vaccine maker PT Bio Farma for joint research and development of a vaccine, but did not give details.

"We have contacted the Indonesian health ministry and Bio Farma. It is at an early stage but we do hope we can start as soon as possible," Seddik told reporters.

"We don't know until now where the vaccine is going to be produced but we have the facility in Egypt," she said.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said the government has yet to decide which drug company would be involved.

There is no commercially available bird flu vaccine for people but several major drug firms are working on one.

In February, Indonesia signed a preliminary agreement with a unit of pharmaceutical firm Baxter International, under which the health ministry's research and development institute would supply the American firm with H5N1 specimens while Baxter would provide technology to help develop a vaccine.

Avian flu mainly affects mainly wild birds and poultry, but experts fear that if the H5N1 strain mutated into a form easily transmitted from person to person, it could sweep the world, killing millions.

Human deaths have been reported in countries from Asia to the Middle East and Africa, with the global toll approaching 200.