On September 25, 2025, the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Brawijaya University (FKUB), held a guest lecture on “Vaccine Bioassay,” featuring Apt. Christian Karol, M.Biomed., S.Si., from PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia. This lecture was part of the Molecular Biology course and was attended by undergraduate pharmacy students from the FKUB Department of Pharmacy.
In his presentation, Apt. Christian Karol provided in-depth insights into the basic concepts of vaccine bioassay, its application in modern vaccine development, and the challenges in validating efficacy and safety testing methods for biotechnology products. This material provided students with an added understanding of the interrelationship between biotechnology, pharmacy, and industrial applications, while also strengthening the translation of knowledge from the laboratory to clinical application.
Following the guest lecture, the event continued with a discussion on potential collaboration between PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia and the FKUB Department of Pharmacy. The discussion covered various areas of the Tridharma of Higher Education, including education, research, and community service. The two parties also discussed opportunities to develop industrial internship programs, collaborative research on recombinant vaccines, and support for increasing the capacity of the pharmaceutical biotechnology laboratory at Brawijaya University.
In addition to departmental meetings, PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia also held discussions with the Rector of Brawijaya University. During the meeting, they discussed the possibility of strategic collaboration between PT Etana and Brawijaya University in the areas of research, vaccine development, and technology transfer in pharmaceutical biotechnology. This collaboration is expected to strengthen Brawijaya University’s position as a center for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research development in Indonesia, while also being a concrete step towards supporting the independence of the national pharmaceutical industry.