VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia kicked off on Thursday operations of the country’s first microalgae-based biotechnology company, which is expected to ease the pharmaceutical industry’s dependency on imports of raw materials. The facility was inaugurated by Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek in Kendal, Central Java.

According to Evergen Resources founder and CEO Siswanto Haryanto, Evergen Resources is the first microalgae-based biotechnology firm in Southeast Asia.

Evergen cultivates freshwater microalgae (Haematococcus pluvialis), which produces natural astaxanthin, a reddish pigment that has high levels of antioxidants and is naturally found in certain algae. It produces the pink or red color in salmon, trout, lobster, shrimp and other seafood, Siswanto explained. Evergen produces astaxanthin as a raw material for several industries, such as cosmetics, nutrition, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and food and beverages.  The company’s products would be used to fulfill domestic demand and be exported to a number of countries, including the United States, South Korea and Japan.

Nila said she hoped Evergen could fulfill domestic demand of natural astaxanthin, which was largely imported from China, Japan and India. She added that Evergen could help the government’s efforts to reduce the country’s imports of pharmaceutical raw materials.Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry continues to grow every year, she said.

She hoped the partnership with foreign companies could accelerate technological transfer.

Suherdjoko, Kendal, Central Java