JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – Vidjongtius, director of Indonesia’s largest pharmaceutical company, PT Kalbe Farma Tbk (KLBF), stated that raw material import is a big challenge for the local pharmacy industry.
As a response, he declared, Kalbe Farma is currently constructing a biopharmacy raw material manufacturing plant in Cikarang, West Java, scheduled to commercially commence operations in late 2017 or 2018.
State-controlled pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma also announced recently that it would start constructing a Rp 100 billion raw materials plant in Cikarang, West Java, in 2016.
Meanwhile, in a bid to encourage the industry, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) gauged a plan to allow foreign investors to hold more shares in pharmacy companies, from currently a maximum of 85%, to 100%.
Indonesia is indeed poised to become a production base for overseas and local manufacturers of medicines, including toll manufacturing.