TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, announced that the government will request Bio Farma to produce the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, TBC M72, developed by Bill Gates.
He explained that this request is part of Indonesia's agreement to participate in the vaccine’s clinical trials.
"Currently, we are conducting a clinical trial. We will ask Bio Farma to accompany and ensure the production is not done in Singapore or elsewhere," Budi said after the launch of the tuberculosis eradication program at the Rambutan Sub-district Office, Ciracas, East Jakarta, on Friday, May 9, 2025.
Budi also addressed rumors regarding Bill Gates building a vaccine factory in Singapore, calling the claims false.
"It's completely wrong. There is no vaccine factory in Singapore. That's a hoax," he said.
The Indonesian government is working with Bill Gates to conduct clinical trials for the third phase of the TB vaccine, which was developed by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline). Budi mentioned that this collaboration is part of a broader global initiative to eradicate tuberculosis.
Minister Budi also shared that the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to reduce the tuberculosis rate by 50% in the next five years.
President Prabowo Subianto previously expressed his positive response to this vaccine trial. The Head of State stated that tuberculosis has taken almost 100,000 lives annually.
According to him, Bill Gates has long been assisting Indonesia in vaccine development.
The Microsoft founder has even provided a grant of US$159 million or around Rp2.6 trillion since 2009.
Prabowo also stated that Rp1.3 trillion of the grant was used for the development of the polio vaccine produced by Bio Farma.
"Two billion doses of vaccine every year, utilized by 902 million people in 42 countries worldwide," said Prabowo when receiving Bill Gates and Indonesian conglomerates at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
Eka Yudha Saputra contributed to the writing of this article.
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