Health technology and drugs are still a problem for human resource in Indonesia. This results in the high amount of imports of drugs and health tools which is as high as 97.2 percent. Hence, government is urged to develop strategic industry in pharmacy and health tools in 25 years through human resource development and regulations.
This emerged in a discussion for the roadmap drafting of strategic industry and high technology development in 2045 through higher learning human resource development.
The discussion was organised by UGM and National Committee for Economy and Industry (KEIN) in multi media room and Grand Aston Hotel Yogyakarta from 11-12 April. It presented experts from UGM, bioceramic nanotechnology expert, drg. Ika Dewi Ana, M.Kes., Ph.D., stem cell expert, dr Rudy Ghazali Malueka., Ph.D., Sp.S, and herbal medicine researcher, Prof. Dr. Subagus Wahyuono, Apt.
Ika Dewi Ana said the nanotechnology development for health needed to be done together. She said UGM had started marketing several health products such as herbal products, even nano bioceramic that had been e-catalogued. "This product can replace some imported products and it is with SNI standard,” she said.
Ika said the health tool development by UGM own company was to support state independence in health area. “Our state competitiveness in health technology is very low, or 97.2% of tools are still imported,” she said.
In her views, nanotechnology development in health matter was very important to handle diseases such as cancer that is predicted to be the biggest cause of fatality. “This poses a challenge, in 2045 our population is dominated by aging population or 74 millions,” she said.
Ika explained UGM had prepared a 2-hectare of land for the purpose of factory establishment. “There is a land measuring 2 hectares that we will establish health tools factory,” she explained.
dr. Rusdy Ghazali Malueka, Ph.D., Sp.S., said stem cell treatment had the potential to cure degenerative diseases. Its technology continues to be developed. He said it could cure heart disease, diabetes, cancer and broken bones.
“At UGM this technology is currently at innovation stage. On production, we collaborate with Kalbe Farma company. Our target in 2020 is to self-produce,” he said.
He described that research at UGM had been applied to patients with broken bones which had showed satisfactory results.
Meanwhile, Prof. Subagus said the potential of herbal medicine from biodiversity had been more ignored. “We lost independence in terms of medicine products,” he said.
“Until now we only have five phytopharmaca products,” said Subagus.
This was because domestic industry prefered to collaborate with overseas industry by having the licence to market the product.
He said what had been done by UGM to establish a pharmaceutical and health tool factory was expected to give hopes so that biodiversity can be developed as herbal medicine resource by engaging farmers.