Bio Farma Receives Appreciation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

(Singapore 18/5) Bio Farma, received an award from the international community, for the novel product Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2). The award given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is given for the dedication of Bio Farma which plays an active role in accelerating the development and production of the nOPV2 vaccine, as an end-game polio strategy in the world.

This award was given in Singapore at the nOPV2 manufacturing and tech transfer summit on 18 May 2022 which, was presented by Ajoy Chakrabakti and received by Bio Farma represented by SEVP (Senior Executive Vice President) Bio Farma, Adriansjah Azhari.

The nOPV2 manufacturing and tech transfer summit was conducted in an effort to find solutions and accelerate the increase in nOPV2 production capacity to meet global needs. This meeting was attended by the Director of Research and Business Development of Bio Farma, Yuliana Indriati Adriansjah Azhari.

The World Health Organization is currently very serious about eradicating the polio epidemic in the world, and intense collaboration between countries is needed to eradicate it. Reporting to the website of The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), currently, there are two countries that are still endemic to polio, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan, and several other countries that have the potential to experience polio outbreaks in several countries such as Africa, the Middle East, Asia. , and Europe.

Yuliana said, Indonesia, through Bio Farma, along with several global entities, actively contributed to helping the world in eradicating polio. One of them is through the product innovation it produces in the form of nOPV2.

Adriansjah also said that this is based on Bio Farma's competence and experience in research, development, and production, until it became the world's leading provider of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) vaccines, which brought Indonesia declared polio-free in 2014.

Meanwhile, the President Director of Bio Farma, Honesti Basyir, said that the nOPV2 vaccine is not used in Indonesia, considering Indonesia has been declared polio-free since 2014.

"Therefore, the nOPV2 vaccine produced by Bio Farma's personnel, which is genetically more stable, has received  Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the POM Agency and Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from WHO as approval for use in an emergency situation. With this latest generation of polio vaccine, the world can be free from polio," said Honesti.

Honesti concluded that since nOPV2 was first produced in 2020, Bio Farma to date has produced more than 300 million doses of nOPV2 to meet global needs according to recommendations from The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and UNICEF.

About the novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2)

Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) is the first new vaccine in the world, which is the result of research from the holding company of the BUMN Pharmaceutical BUMN Holding, Bio Farma, which is a modified version of type 2 monovalent OPV ( mOPV2) that already exists. In clinical trials, this nOPV2 provides the same protection against type 2 poliovirus, with the advantage of being more genetically stable, and having a lower chance of reoccurring cVDPVC or Circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus namely the re-emergence of polio cases from viral mutations in the vaccine.

The use of nOPV2 in this EUL has been recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, an independent institution that recommends nOPV2 to overcome the Polio outbreak, and also the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to ensure that during this EUL period, the pay attention to safety standards are still observed. (ed)