REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG — PT Bio Farm currently developing rotavirus vaccine which is the result of the collaboration of the nation’s children. Rotavirus remains one of the most common causes of severe and fatal diarrhea in children under 5 years of age worldwide.
According to Bio Farma’s Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) Research and Testing, Adriansjah Azhari PT Bio Farma as a Pharmaceutical SOE mandated by the Government in developing the Rotavirus vaccine so that Indonesia can fight Rotavirus, as well as progress and global challenges it is facing.
Adriansjah said the development of the rotavirus vaccine at Bio Farma was the result of collaboration between the nation’s children and had several advantages compared to other rotavirus vaccines. Namely, the Rotavirus vaccine made by Bio Farma can be given to babies starting from new babies aged 0 months, 1 month, 2 months.
Currently, all other Rotavirus vaccines in the world can only be given to babies aged 2, 3, 4 months. This, he said, would provide much better protection for babies from exposure to the Rota virus.
“The advantage is that Bio Farma’s leading Rotavirus vaccine is the only Rotavirus vaccine that uses ingredients that do not contain porcine elements (porcine free). So that in the future when this vaccine is launching, It is hoped that this is the first halal Rotavirus vaccine in the world,” said Adriansjah, in a press release, Friday (24/3/2023).
Another advantage, he said, is that vaccine development from upstream to downstream is carried out domestically. So that the TKDN value is high compared to other imported vaccines so that it can continue to support domestic resilience and independence.
“Bio Farma is collaborating on technology transfer with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in its development,” he said.
Currently, he said, the development of the rotavirus vaccine is in the phase 3 clinical trial stage in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Gadjah Mada University and the Faculty of Medicine, Sebelas Maret University.
This clinical trial aims, he said, to assess the efficacy of the vaccine in 1,400 newborns with an observation period of up to 18 months of age. “Hopefully the rotavirus vaccine developed by Bio Farma can become one of the national vaccination programs so that it can protect the nation’s young generation from an early age from death and the severity of gastroenteritis due to rotavirus infection,” he said.
Rotavirus remains one of the most common causes of severe and fatal diarrhea in children under 5 years of age worldwide. Since convening the meeting in Minsk, 28 additional countries have introduced rotavirus vaccines, bringing the global total to 123 countries worldwide.
However, less than half of the countries in the Southeast Asia Region routinely use the rotavirus vaccine. Globally, despite WHO recommendations that rotavirus vaccine should be included in every country’s national immunization program, 58.6 million children worldwide do not have access to this life-saving vaccine.
At the 14th International Rotavirus Symposium meeting, researchers from various countries presented their latest research results related to Rotavirus vaccine development, trial studies, surveillance and epidemiological data in the world, barriers and supporting factors for vaccine introduction to society, problems in vaccine policy and implementation, progress in immunology and virology, and the impact and safety of vaccines. Through this symposium, it is hoped that experts from around the world will discuss and debate the next steps in an effort to prevent child deaths due to Rotavirus.
Bio Farma himself was one of the speakers at the 14TH INTERNATIONAL ROTAVIRUS SYMPOSIUM which was held in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) and the Sabin Vaccine Institute on 14-16 March 2023 in Bali-Indonesia.
This activity was attended by more than 300 participants consisting of researchers and domestic and foreign stakeholders who are interested in providing the latest information on the latest research results related to Rotavirus, results of new vaccine trials, the latest approaches to Rotavirus vaccines, research funding and introduction of new vaccines. as well as other relevant issues regarding the development of the Rotavirus vaccine.
The theme raised was “Development of the neonatal rotavirus vaccine at PT Biofarma”. The theme includes a discussion of Bio Farma’s important contributions.
