Luhut Urges BPPT, Bio Farma to Produce COVID-19 Test Kits

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan urged the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and pharmaceutical company Bio Farma to produce PCR and rapid test kits to fulfill domestic demand.

"Now, we look at BPPT and Bio Farma to compile lists of what we need and what imported products that we must limit," he remarked at a coordination meeting to discuss the domestic production of PCR and rapid test kits on Friday.

Pandjaitan highlighted the need for the country to prioritize domestic production, adding that imports could be conducted solely to meet the shortage.

"Hence, we will encourage BUMN (state-owned enterprises) to help invest in this field," he remarked as quoted in a written statement.

Furthermore, Pandjaitan urged Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita to push domestic industries to produce pharmaceutical products.

Technically, state-owned Bio Farma can produce 1.5 million PCT test kits and up to even 3.5 million a month, Pandjaitan, concurrently deputy chair of the Policy Committee for the Control of COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, stated.

Pandjaitan especially urged Bio Farma President Director Honesti to also domestically produce reagents, a critical component of testing.

In response to the minister's request, BPPT Head Hammam Riza, also present at the coordination meeting, expressed his agency’s readiness to produce several test kits in bulk.

"Some products used for screening, such as rapid tests, have been mass produced," he affirmed.

In collaboration with PT Prodia, PT Tempo Scan Pacific, and PT Padma, BPPT successfully boosted rapid test production to over two million devices a month.

Furthermore, the BPPT, in cooperation with Bio Farma, has succeeded in producing PCR test kits at a monthly capacity of 1.5 million.

"The PCR kit that we started working on in March along with Bio Farma's biomolecular startup has now successfully entered the second generation by using a different multiplex method from simulfex owing to its accuracy and speed," Hammam added.

Read also: BPPT Creates COVID-19 Detection System Based on Machine Learning

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