Bio Farma, Holding SOE Pharmacy – with its subsidiaries Kimia Farma and Indofarma, has signed a framework agreement regarding technology transfer cooperation with MSD (trade name Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ , USA), to produce locally the MSD 4-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

The agreement was signed by George Stylianou, Managing Director of MSD Indonesia and Honesti Basyir, CEO of Bio Farma Induk Holding and witnessed by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Deputy Minister I of BUMN Pahala Nugraha Mansury, Representative of the US Embassy in Indonesia, and the President of MSD Asia Pacific, David Peacock.

Based on the MSD and Bio Farma partnership that has existed since 2016, this announcement of a framework agreement for the local production of the HPV vaccine has the potential to increase the capability and capacity of domestic vaccine production in Indonesia. Based on this framework, the parties will continue to work together towards an agreement to support the manufacture of local HPV vaccines in Indonesia.

Currently the HPV vaccine has been used for the introduction of the HPV immunisation programme in various districts and cities and the HPV immunisation programme will continue to be expanded to become a national scale programme in 2023. 

The signing of the agreement brings the best vaccine manufacturing capabilities from Bio Farma and MSD to Indonesia.

Image credit- (left-right) Deputy Minister I of BUMN Pahala Nugraha Mansury; MSD Asia Pacific President , David Peacock; Managing Director of MSD Indonesia , George Stylianou; CEO of Bio Farma Induk Holding , Honesti Basyir; and the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia , Budi Gunadi Sadikin