Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) is seeking to enhance regulatory cooperation with China in areas including the supervision of medicines, vaccines, natural medicines, cosmetics, and processed food safety.
BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar on Monday (August 10) said the two countries share close ties across various fields, including the pharmaceutical, health, and food sectors.
According to him, closer regulatory collaboration is needed to ensure products available in both markets comply with safety, efficacy, and quality requirements.
“Indonesia and China have a close relationship in the fields of medicine and food. Therefore, we want to ensure that trade and industrial relations go hand-in-hand with the strengthening of regulatory systems, for the public to receive safe and effective products,” Ikrar noted.
He views China as a key strategic partner for Indonesia, supplying a significant share of pharmaceutical raw materials, including Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and excipients, as well as finished pharmaceutical products. China also accounts for around 30 percent of Indonesia’s natural medicine imports and remains an important trading partner in the processed food sector.
During a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia, Wang Lutong, the two specifically addressed opportunities to expand cooperation between BPOM and relevant Chinese authorities and institutions.
Discussions also covered the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BPOM and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), the previous version of which expired in June 2024.
BPOM is currently seeking to renew the agreement with a broader scope covering the regulation of medicines, vaccines, biological products, pharmaceutical raw materials, natural medicines, cosmetics, and digital regulatory technology.
“The MoU renewal stretches beyond extending existing cooperation but also is a momentum to build broader, more concrete regulatory collaboration capable of addressing technological advancements and the needs of the health industry,” Ikrar emphasized.
Cooperation is also intended for developing approaches based on regulatory reliance and collaborative review to facilitate faster access to medicines, vaccines, biological products, and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP).
Furthermore, both parties can strengthen collaboration regarding clinical trial oversight, Good Clinical Practice (GCP) inspections, and the development of pharmaceutical innovations.
Ambassador Wang Lutong welcomed efforts to strengthen cooperation in the health and pharmaceutical sectors, particularly in investment and medical device technology transfer to Indonesia.
“We would also like to look into the possibility of establishing such factories; we wish to explore that possibility,” he said.
Responding to discussions on expediting the renewal of the cooperation agreement between BPOM and the NMPA, he pledged to help facilitate the diplomatic process to ensure the document is finalized soon.
He also praised Indonesia’s clear regulations and the shared commitment to strengthening diplomacy and human resource capacity in drug and food regulation.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna N P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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