Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has approved phase 3 clinical trials for the M72 tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, aiming to assess its efficacy amid the country's high TB burden.
BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar said on Thursday (15/5/2025) that the trial’s potential to transform TB treatment strategies, given the growing resistance to current drug regimens.
“The long-term use of TB drugs has led to resistance that is hard to cure, and the existing BCG vaccine is no longer effective enough. We believe the M72 vaccine could be a game changer,” he said, as quoted by antaranews.com.
The new vaccine, developed with support from the Gates Foundation, is viewed as a significant improvement over the existing BCG vaccine. Around 2,000 Indonesians will join the 20,000 global participants in this double-blinded trial.
Biofarma, Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company, will handle production if the trial is successful, potentially securing rights for local manufacturing and reducing dependence on imported raw materials.
The Gates Foundation also expressed its commitment to making Indonesia a global vaccine hub for various infectious diseases.
(mg/inp/pr/nm)