Biopharmaceutical Startup Etana Receives Fresh Investment, Strengthens Biological Medicine Raw Materials

Local biopharmaceutical startup PT Etana Biotechnologies Indonesia (Etana) announced the acquisition of a new round of investment led by DEG, followed by Yunfeng Capital, HighLight Capital and East Ventures. No mention of the nominal won in this round.

Etana will utilize fresh funds to strengthen pipeline and a portfolio of companies in the field of oncology (the science related to tumors) to become a producer of raw materials for biological drugs. The company is committed to building production capacity with local content and high technology for mammalian cells as a medicinal ingredient monoclonal antibodies. Currently, Etana is focusing on local biopharmaceutical production for mRNA, protein and monoclonal antibodies platforms.

In an official statement delivered today (20/3), President Director of Etana Nathan Tirtana said, as a local startup, he always strives to provide high-quality, affordable and innovative biopharmaceutical products to serve patients in Indonesia and countries in Southeast Asia. He said the company would use the support it received from investors to develop local biopharmaceutical production capabilities, which was in line with policies echoed by the Indonesian government.

"Etana is trying to overcome the challenges of cancer and other life-threatening diseases in the Southeast Asian market, including vaccines. We believe that the biological products created can provide better treatment for public health," said Nathan.

Investors also submitted their statements. One of them, Monika Beck, is a member of the DEG Management Board. He said, “As a developing financing institution, DEG is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of them is improving health services. "By collaborating with Etana, we are working to help people in developing countries get easy access to high-quality biological medicines and MRNA vaccines."

Co-founder and Managing Partner of East Ventures Willson Cuaca He also added that yesterday's pandemic showed that Indonesia's health system was still weak, thus urging all stakeholders in the ecosystem to come up with fast and innovative solutions to overcome the crisis.

"Etana's various innovative products, including vaccines, cancer drugs, and other biological products, have contributed to strengthening the resilience of the national health system, and we are pleased to support Etana. We believe Etana excels in delivering high-quality, affordable, and innovative biopharmaceutical products in Southeast Asia , together with East Ventures is taking an active role in empowering this industry further," explained Willson.

Ethane Products

Etana claims to be the first company in Southeast Asia to have mRNA technology. mRNA is a flexible vaccine development platform that can respond quickly to the need for innovative and flexible biopharmaceutical products for cancer, vaccines and others. To develop a new vaccine using mRNA technology, it only takes a short time, namely approximately two months for the vaccine product to be developed and ready to enter the Clinical Trial Phase.

This startup, which has been established since 2014, produces the Covid-19 vaccine with the mRNA platform. This vaccine has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), a halal determination from the LPOM of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and a certificate. halal from the Halal Product Guarantee Organizing Agency (BPJPH) of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion.

Etana will produce biosimilar bevacizumab, a humanized recombinant anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody drug for cancer patients in Indonesia. The product itself has met the safety and efficacy standards for drugs set by the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) in June 2022, both in terms of product quality and production process.

Apart from that, Ethane also produces Erythropoietin (EPO) which is needed in dialysis treatment. Next, the company plans to develop an adenovirus platform for vaccine production. This production is aimed at meeting domestic needs and is planned to be exported to the ASEAN market and several other countries.