VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia will start phase II clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate made by Genexine Inc, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, this year, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

"Clinical trials II will begin in October in Indonesia," Retno said at the Working Meeting of Commission I of the House of Representatives. 

So far, the development of the vaccine made by Genexine is nearing the end of phase I clinical trial taking place in South Korea. Genexine is developing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate called GX 19 and for clinical trials in Indonesia, the company collaborates with PT Kalbe Farma Tbk.

In 2017, the two companies have collaborated to establish a joint venture company PT Kalbe Genexine Biologics (KGBio), one of which has a mission to develop drugs and vaccines.

GX 19 is a candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine made by a consortium of several companies, including Genexine as coordinator, Binex, International Vaccine Institute (IVI), GenNbio, KAIST, and POSTECH.

The vaccine candidate uses DNA material that aims to create antigens in the immune system. The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in June 2020 approved the GX 19 phase I clinical trial.

Not only with Genexine, but Indonesia also collaborated with G42 Healthcare Holding, a pharmaceutical company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). G42 is committed to securing 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate for Indonesia this year.

At the meeting, Retno said that the government had secured 20-30 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate in 2020 and 290-340 million doses of the vaccine in 2021. 

Apart from Genexine, G42, Sinovac, and Sinopharm, Retno said Indonesia was still exploring opportunities for cooperation in the procurement of candidates of the COVID-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Imperial College London. However, Retno did not explain the statement further.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working on various bilateral cooperations to get the COVID-19 vaccine quickly, safely, and affordably Retno said.

"There are two approaches taken by the Government of Indonesia in obtaining vaccines. The first is the short-term approach, which means fast access to safe vaccines at affordable prices and this approach requires cooperation with external parties, both bilaterally and multilaterally,”  Retno said to the members of Commission I of the House. 

"The second is a long-term approach, namely the development of a national vaccine, the Merah Putih vaccine, which we hope will be the main support for the independence of the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia," she said.

Retno said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is focused on implementing a short-term strategy, considering that the emergency situation during the pandemic requires quick action.

"Therefore, our diplomats both in Jakarta and various countries work day and night to be able to secure several vaccine commitments for the Indonesian people," she added. (Antaranews)