Bio Farma

Bio Farma is an Indonesian state-owned pharmaceutical and life-sciences company specializing in vaccines, sera, and other biological products. Headquartered in Bandung, West Java, it is widely described as Indonesia’s only domestic vaccine manufacturer and has played a central role in the country’s immunization infrastructure. Its products have included vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B, and combination immunization programs such as pentavalent vaccination. The organization traces its institutional history to the Parc-vaccinogène, established by the colonial government in Batavia on 6 August 1890. Its early work focused on vaccine development and infectious-disease control, including cooperation with the Pasteur Institute. After several changes in location, name, and legal status, the institution became permanently associated with Bandung. During the Indonesian independence struggle, operations were temporarily moved to Klaten and Yogyakarta while Bandung was under Dutch control, before returning to the city after the conflict. The organization passed through a series of legal and administrative forms after independence. It was known as Perusahaan Negara Pasteur from 1955 to 1960, Perusahaan Negara Bio Farma from 1961 to 1978, and Perusahaan Umum Bio Farma from 1978 to 1997. Since 1997 it has operated as PT Bio Farma (Persero), a state-owned limited company. This continuity gives Bio Farma a distinctive position in Indonesia: it is both a commercial pharmaceutical enterprise and a strategic public-health institution. Bio Farma’s business is centered on research, manufacturing, quality control, and distribution of vaccines and sera. Its domestic role includes supplying products for national immunization needs, while its international role has developed through deliveries to other countries and procurement channels involving organizations such as UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization. The company’s export and multilateral supply activities connect Indonesian biological manufacturing with broader global vaccination programs. In 2020, Bio Farma became the holding company for Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical enterprises Kimia Farma and Indofarma. The holding structure expanded its role beyond vaccine manufacturing and positioned it as a coordinating center for a wider state pharmaceutical group. Nevertheless, vaccines and biological products remain the core of the Bio Farma identity. The brand is associated less with consumer-facing retail products than with public-health supply, institutional procurement, disease prevention, and national pharmaceutical capability.

Bio Farma’s institutional history begins on 6 August 1890, when the colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies established the Parc-vaccinogène in Batavia, the city now known as Jakarta. The agency was created to support vaccine development and infectious-disease control. In 1895 it was renamed Parc-vaccinogène en Instituut Pasteur, reflecting its relationship with the Pasteur Institute and the period’s emphasis on bacteriology and preventive medicine. The institution later became known as the Landskoepok-Inrichting en Instituut Pasteur. During the early twentieth century, government institutions and other offices gradually moved from Batavia toward Bandung. The vaccine and Pasteur organization followed this wider administrative relocation and established the Bandung site that would remain its principal home. Bandung’s cooler, elevated setting and growing institutional infrastructure supported the development of scientific and public-health activities there. The organization experienced major disruption during the Second World War and the Indonesian independence period. Under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, the Bandung facility operated as the Bandung Epidemics Institute. Following Indonesian independence, it was known as Gedung Cacar dan Lembaga Pasteur. During the independence war, when Bandung was under Dutch control, parts of its activity moved to Klaten and Yogyakarta. The Bandung facility also temporarily reverted to its earlier Dutch administrative name. After the conflict ended, the institution returned to Bandung and resumed operations under the Indonesian post-independence administration. A succession of legal changes followed. From 1955 to 1960 it operated as Perusahaan Negara Pasteur. In 1961 the name changed to Perusahaan Negara Bio Farma, marking the adoption of the name by which the organization is now known. It became Perusahaan Umum Bio Farma in 1978 and was converted into PT Bio Farma (Persero) in 1997. These changes reflected shifts in Indonesia’s state-enterprise framework while preserving the organization’s long-term role in biological manufacturing and public health. Bio Farma developed a product portfolio centered on vaccines and sera. Its vaccines have included products for measles, polio, hepatitis B, and pentavalent immunization. The company has served Indonesia’s vaccination requirements and has also supplied vaccines beyond Indonesia through international procurement and health organizations, including UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization. This international supply role has made Bio Farma part of wider efforts to expand access to immunization products. The company’s strategic significance increased in 2020, when it became the holding company for the state-owned pharmaceutical enterprises Kimia Farma and Indofarma. The holding structure created a broader state pharmaceutical group under Bio Farma’s coordination. Although the group encompasses more than vaccine production, Bio Farma’s historic identity remains rooted in biological products, infectious-disease prevention, manufacturing capability, and support for national immunization programs. Today it operates as an active Indonesian state-owned pharmaceutical enterprise headquartered in Bandung.

1. 2020Pharmaceutical holding company established

   Bio Farma became the holding company for listed state-owned pharmaceutical companies Kimia Farma and Indofarma.

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2. 1997Becomes PT Bio Farma (Persero)

   Bio Farma adopted its current state-owned limited-company form, PT Bio Farma (Persero).

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3. 1978Becomes Perum Bio Farma

   The company changed its legal form to Perusahaan Umum Bio Farma.

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4. 1961Adopts the Bio Farma name

   The organization became Perusahaan Negara Bio Farma.

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5. 1955Becomes Perusahaan Negara Pasteur

   The institution entered a new Indonesian state-enterprise form under the name Perusahaan Negara Pasteur.

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6. 1945Post-independence institutional transition

   After Indonesian independence, the organization operated as Gedung Cacar dan Lembaga Pasteur; some activities moved during the independence war.

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7. 1942Reorganized as the Bandung Epidemics Institute

   During Japanese occupation, the Bandung facility operated under the name Bandung Epidemics Institute.

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8. 1895Renamed Parc-vaccinogène en Instituut Pasteur

   The organization adopted a new name reflecting its association with the Pasteur Institute and its infectious-disease research role.

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9. 1890Parc-vaccinogène established

   The colonial government established the vaccine development agency Parc-vaccinogène in Batavia on 6 August 1890.

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A strategic Indonesian public-health and life-sciences manufacturer focused on vaccines, sera, immunization support, and national pharmaceutical capability.

• Measles vaccineVaccine

  A vaccine product associated with Bio Farma’s infectious-disease prevention portfolio and immunization activities in Indonesia.

• Polio vaccineVaccine

  A polio immunization product manufactured by Bio Farma for use in public-health vaccination programs and broader immunization supply.

• Hepatitis B vaccineVaccine

  A hepatitis B vaccine within Bio Farma’s portfolio of preventive biological products, supporting immunization against a major infectious disease.

• Pentavalent vaccineCombination vaccine

  A combination vaccine designed to provide protection against multiple diseases through a single immunization product, supporting efficient public-health vaccination programs.

• SeraBiological product

  Bio Farma produces sera as part of its broader biological-products business alongside vaccines. Specific serum products and indications are not identified in the supplied reference material.

• 2020Creation of a state pharmaceutical holding structureStrategy

  Indonesia reorganized parts of its state-owned pharmaceutical sector around Bio Farma, whose historic vaccine and biological-products capabilities made it the designated coordinating company.

  What changed. Bio Farma became the holding company for the listed state-owned pharmaceutical companies Kimia Farma and Indofarma.

  Aftermath. The change expanded Bio Farma’s corporate role from a specialist vaccine manufacturer to the coordinating parent of a broader state pharmaceutical group.

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• 2020Bio Farma became the holding company for Kimia Farma and Indofarma

  Bio Farma assumed the role of holding company for Indonesia’s listed state-owned pharmaceutical companies Kimia Farma and Indofarma, broadening its responsibilities from vaccine and biological-product manufacturing to coordination of a wider state pharmaceutical group.

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1. Bio Farma