Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian Health Ministry in collaboration with PT Amarox Pharma Global will produce antiviral Molnupiravir in the country for COVID-19 treatment, in April or May 2022.

"Several variants of drugs that we definitely need are antivirals such as Favipiravir and Molnupiravir. If we can immediately get access to these drugs, it will be very helpful for handling the COVID-19," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a written statement received here on Friday (Jan. 14).

The minister made the statement after inaugurating Amarox Pharma Global in Bekasi district, West Java province, on Friday.

He said the government seeks to ensure the availability of domestic-produced COVID-19 drugs, especially in the face of the continued wave of the COVID-19 infections.

In line with this, the government is preparing new antiviral drugs, including Molnupiravir and Paxlovid. Currently, the Health Ministry has secured 400,000 Molnupiravir tablets prepared by Amarox.

Amarox will also produce its own Molnupiravir which is scheduled to start in April or May 2022.

Budi Gunadi asked Amarox to also produce Paxlovid to deal with the next coronavirus variant.

He noted that Indonesia is currently in the stage of entering the Omicron variant wave. The availability of COVID-19 drugs is very helpful in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Indonesia, according to the minister, has difficulties in obtaining those medicines when a number of countries are facing daily spikes of coronavirus infections.

The short-term collaboration between the Health Ministry and Amarox aims to help overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, and the medium-term goal is for the company to support national medicine independence.

"We will ensure that more drug and medical devices are produced in Indonesia, so that if there is a further pandemic, we will not depend on other countries," he said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window