Indonesia Will Start Molnupiravir Production in April

TheIndonesia.id - The Indonesian government targets to start the production of antiviral Molnupiravir in April or May 2022 as access to the medication is deemed urgent to support the handing of COVID-19 pandemic.

Ministry of Health said it will work with PT Amarox Pharma Global to produce a number of antiviral medicines.

“Some of the drug variants that we need are antiviral medicines, like Favipiravir and Molnupiravir. If we can get immediate access to those medicines, it will massively help the COVID-19 handling,” Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement on Friday, January 14, as reported by Antara.

Medication is among the government’s focuses in bracing the potentially new wave, and the Ministry has been able to secure 400,000 Molnupiravir pills from by PT Amarox Pharma Global.

Upon the plan to start producing Molnupiravir in April or May, the company is also expected to produce another antiviral medicines, Paxlovid.

Gunadi also said that during the previous global case surge, Indonesia experienced logistical difficulty to get medication supplies to Indonesia. Therefore, it anticipated potential Omicron wave by planning to produce the necessary drugs domestically.

The Ministry is optimistic that the operation of PT Amarox Pharma Global in Indonesia will support national COVID-19 handling. And in the long run, it’s also expected to encourage national medical and pharmaceutical independence.