REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOR -- Chinese company Pharmally International Holding, in cooperation with Harbin Weike Biotechnology Company, has set up a poultry vaccine plant in Curug, Bogor, West Java.

The plant named PT Biotis Prima Agrisindo (BPA) initially would produce Alvian Influenza vaccine and Newcastle Disease vaccine.

"So far, Indonesia has relied on imports to meet the need for animal vaccines. The demand continued to increase while AI vaccines remained in short supply. We saw a business opportunity in poultry vaccine manufacture," president director of Pharmally International, Tony Huang, said at a corner stone laying ceremony to mark the start of the plant's construction here on Saturday.

He noted that biotis vaccine plant will help shore up measures to handle the bird flu disease that had broken out in the country in the past.

The other reason is the Indonesian government's bio vaccine import policy that has made production of inactive bird flu vaccine possible only if the virus strain used comes from Indonesia and the product is sold in the country.

The company will invest US$100 million to build the BPA vaccine plant in stages over the next three years.

Initially, the plant will have a capacity of to produce eight million ampules.

The plant is built on a 45,000 square meter plot of land while the building will be built over 26,000 square meters. It will be used for active vaccine production and inactive vaccine production.

It will also have two lines of production, one for vaccine embryo and another for cell production.

The head of Animal Medical Certification and Quality Test Center, Enuh Rahardjo Djusa, noted that the biotis vaccine plant would be the sixth animal vaccine plant in Indonesia.

"Indonesia has had local vaccine plants such as those belonging to PT Vaksindo in Gunung Putri, Caprifarmindo in Bandung and Pusat Veteriner Farma in Surabaya. It is hoped that the sixth plant would help meet the needs for vaccines in Indonesia," Enuh stated.

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