TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Armed Forces headquarters (Mabes TNI)'s Head of Health Center, Maj. Gen. Tugas Ratmono, on Monday insisted the Nusantara vaccine research currently held at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital or RSPAD Gatot Subroto must have a legal basis.

“There must be a legal standing as it involves officials from the TNI and its facilities too, even if there are partnerships with other facilities, and people” Tugas said in the press conference on April 19.

The development of the Nusantara vaccine is presently still afoot, with samples obtained from volunteers for its second clinical trial. The vaccine development has sparked controversies due to the absence of the required permit from the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM), as the vaccine failed to pass its first clinical trial.

Tugas said the legal standing problem will be the basis for RSPAD to continue the dendritic cell-based vaccine development.

With the existence of the legal standing, he added, BPOM could better monitor and assure the Nusantara vaccine would be perfectly safe and effective for future use by the public. This includes managing contracts with foreign researchers who may be involved in the research. It is known that the raw materials for the vaccine development hail from US-based AIVITA Biomedicine.

Read: TNI Promises Nusantara Vaccine Will Follow Scientific Principles

EGI ADYATAMA