Bio Farma to Export its Polio Vaccines After Securing Purchasing Contracts from UNICEF for 2022 and 2023

JAKARTADAILY.ID - PT Bio Farma, the holding company for pharmaceutical state-owned companies in Indonesia, aims to export its novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) after it secured purchasing contracts with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for this year and the next.

Under the contract, Bio Farma will export its polio vaccines, based on requests from UNICEF, for the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 through multilateral schemes.

The Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir had previously said that in line with the theme of the G20 Indonesia's presidency, "Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, it is important for the Indonesian state-owned enterprises to lead through concrete actions that are realized through various strategic initiatives and large scale transformations to create global impacts.

Honesti Basyir, the President Director of Bio Farma said the company will export the nOPV2 after it secured purchasing contracts from UNICEF for the fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

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“UNICEF is buying the nOPV2 via multilateral means. The nOPV2 is part of the efforts to prevent the spread of polio disease in the world. Bio Farma’s success to export the nOPV2 means we have contributed to the global health industry, as we are able to provide stockpiles (of vaccines) for the world’s needs,” Honesti said.

He explains the contract scheme, in which UNICEF sends a purchase order to Bio Farma, and the Indonesian company will ship the vaccine to the targeted market.

“For example, UNICEF sends a purchase order to send (nOPV2) to Nigeria, then Bio Farma to distribute it directly to that country,” Honesti said.

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The Indonesian pharmaceutical company’s contribution to the supply of polio vaccine in the world is expected to strengthen the company’s vision to become a world-class Life Science company that can improve the quality of life for all people in the world.

Bio Farma, which has run its operations for more than 130 years, has received a number of acknowledgments from the international community for various of its services and products. For information, the company’s manufactured nOPV2 has obtained the Emergency Use of Authorization (EUA) from the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM).

The vaccine has also obtained the Emergency Use of Listing from the World Health Organization. The EUL, released by the WHO, is a procedure for assessing and listing vaccines during public health emergencies such as during the pandemic by non-vaccine-producing countries.

Honesti explains that Bio Farma’s nOPV2 vaccines have been distributed to a number of countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East because Indonesia is already a polio-free country since 2014.

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