Join optimistic soon to find candidates for the drug Covid-19

YAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) delivered various laboratory equipment to the University of Airlangga, Surabaya.

With this help, the University of Airlangga is optimistic that it will soon be able to find a Covid-19 drug or antivirus in the near future.

BIN chief secretary Komjen Pol Bambang Sunarwibowo said the assistance was provided because Unair had the potential of human resources, including researchers competent in the field of infectious diseases.

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“It is hoped that with the help of laboratory equipment and funding from research I can help Unair produce Covid-19 drugs and vaccines as soon as possible,” Bambang said in a press release on Saturday (09/05/2020) .

The delivery of this assistance is in line with the memorandum of understanding and the cooperation agreement between BIN and Airlangga that was signed on April 7, 2020.

The assistance presented by BIN to Unair consisted of 1 unit of 96-wheel RT-PCR, 1 unit of Deed GO Healthcare Life Sciences, 1 unit of sequencer, 2 units of CO2 incubator, Covid-19 reagent set, plastic / primer and research costs for the discovery of Covid-19 drug candidates.

“We hope UNAIR can periodically report the development of the research in collaboration with the BIN,” Bambang continued.

The aid delivery was received directly by the Chancellor of the University of Airlangga, Mohammad Nasih. Nasih expressed his thanks and appreciation for the assistance provided.

He hopes that with the help of this laboratory equipment, Unair can increase the capacity of laboratory tests and make it easier for researchers to accelerate the management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The speed and accuracy of the assistance provided by BIN, the value exceeds the cash assistance due to the difficulty of transportation and logistics to obtain these tools,” said Nasih.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Unair’s compound investigator, Ni Nyoman Tri Puspaningsih, said investigators had managed to conduct an analysis of various types of drugs both from abroad and within the country.

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Unair researchers have also been able to analyze six of the 20 genome samples of the Covid-19 virus in Indonesia.

In addition, Unair has also found several compounds that can then be tested with the found Covid-19 virus genome.

“We are confident, through further research, that a Covid-19 drug candidate will be found soon, hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks there will be good news,” he said.