Supporting the Implementation of TKDN in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Observer: Cross-Sector Collaboration Is the Key

JAKARTA, November 27, 2023 – The implementation of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) policy in various industries in the country is a necessity. This has been regulated by the Government, including in Presidential Regulation No. 29/2018 on Empowering the Industry. The health industry is one of those urged to increase its TKDN value by the Government to reduce imports and transform into a self-sufficient country in the healthcare sector, including pharmaceuticals.

According to the CEO of LSP Capital Market, Haryajid Ramelan, during the Investment Talk seminar: Implications of the Performance of the Health Sector and TKDN Products in the Context of the Capital Market held on Friday (11/24) afternoon, the national health industry, especially pharmaceuticals, has been dependent on the import of raw materials for drugs. In fact, the import value reaches more than 90%.

"This is due to the high research and investment costs needed to build drug raw material factories in Indonesia, so the number of upstream or basic chemical industries that produce drug raw materials is still limited. However, if this upstream industry develops, there will be many benefits, including enhancing the competitiveness of the national pharmaceutical industry," he said.

However, this does not mean that the health industry cannot increase its TKDN value to become more self-reliant. According to Haryajid, one effort that can be made is through cross-sector collaboration. "Cross-sector collaboration is one of the paths for the pharmaceutical industry to become self-sufficient in the future. With self-sufficiency, this can reduce the impact of fluctuations in global commodity prices and help economic growth," he explained. Also mentioned at the same event was one publicly traded company in the pharmaceutical sector that has implemented TKDN policies in its business, PT Phapros Tbk (PEHA).

In a different location, Acting CEO of Phapros, David Sidjabat, stated that the health industry, including pharmaceuticals, faces many challenges in increasing TKDN values, but they continue to strive for products to achieve a minimum TKDN value of 40% in accordance with Government regulations.

"One of the efforts made is cross-sector collaboration. In this regard, Phapros has collaborated with many parties, especially research institutions and universities, to obtain future products that meet the needs of the community," explained David.

"Many Phapros products have TKDN certification according to Government value standards. One downstream research product that has achieved a high TKDN score of over 60%, is the biological product called Bonefill Ortho Cube, a medical device used to fill empty spaces or gaps in bones that will facilitate healing or bone regeneration, usually occurring in trauma cases," he said.

This product is a downstream research collaboration with researchers at RSUD Dr. Soetomo, Surabaya. In the future, the product will also have many new variants that are currently under research. With the numerous downstream products developed by the issuer with stock code PEHA, David hopes they can contribute to realizing the self-sufficiency of the national health sector.