Indonesia is moving closer to localising the production of plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) as SK Plasma Core Indonesia—a joint venture between South Korea’s SK Plasma and the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA)—advances the country’s first plasma fractionation facility.
The JV’s five-hectare, Karawang-based plant, whose groundbreaking was in 2023, is now more than 98% complete and commercial production is slated for late 2026.
Once operational, the facility can process up to 600,000 litres of human blood plasma annually—expandable to 1 million with shift programming—positioning it as Indonesia’s first plasma fractionation plant and the largest in Southeast Asia. Thailand has a similar facility with an annual capacity of 200,000 litres, which cannot meet domestic demand.
PDMPs are life-saving therapies made from human blood plasma. Indonesia today remains fully dependent on imported PDMPs, including immunoglobulin, albumin and Factor VIII, which are used to treat immunodeficiency disorders, autoimmune diseases, trauma and haemophilia. Hospitals rely on imported supplies, which are often costly and vulnerable to global supply disruptions.
At the same time, the country discards an estimated 200,000 litres of locally collected plasma each year due to the absence of domestic fractionation infrastructure, highlighting a structural gap between donor availability and industrial capacity.
“Until last year, those plasmas were discarded,” said Ted Hyunho Roh, president director of SKPlasma Core Indonesia. “That inefficiency was one of the reasons we started this business together with the Indonesian government and INA.”
INA and SK Plasma formally signed their investment agreements in late 2024, marking the entry of the sovereign-backed entity into Indonesia’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing sector.
For INA, the project sits at the intersection of foreign direct investment and healthcare resilience.
For INA, the project sits at the intersection of foreign direct investment and healthcare resilience. INA became the second-largest shareholder at the firm, though no figures were disclosed.
“Healthcare is one of INA’s priority sectors,” said Andre Cahyadi, vice president of investment at INA. “This project is attractive because it brings foreign direct investment while at the same time strengthening national healthcare security.”
Separate from INA’s equity commitment, SK Plasma Core Indonesia also entered a strategic MoU with Danantara Indonesia, last month. Under that agreement, Danantara and SK Plasma committed to collaborate on efforts to strengthen local capability for PDMP production, knowledge transfer and high-skilled job creation.
Danantara’s Chief Investment Officer, Pandu Sjahrir, said the partnership reflects a broader effort to reduce reliance on imports and enhance national healthcare resilience.
While construction nears completion, SK Plasma has relied on a toll manufacturing arrangement to mitigate supply risks. Under this interim structure, plasma collected from Indonesian donors is shipped to SK Plasma’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-certified facility in Andong, South Korea, where it is processed before finished products are sent back to Indonesia.
“This is a two-phase solution,” Roh said. “During construction, which takes two to three years, we bring Indonesian plasma to Korea, produce the finished product, and then bring it back to Indonesia. This has already happened.”
The first shipment of Indonesian plasma was sent in March 2025 and converted into two products—SK GammaBio, an immunoglobulin therapy, and SK Albumin—which were launched earlier this month. While the launch marked a milestone, the products were still manufactured offshore, underscoring how far Indonesia remains from full domestic self-sufficiency.
Local manufacturing at the Karawang facility is expected to begin with albumin and immunoglobulin, with Factor VIII production to be added only after operations stabilise. Roh said localisation would be gradual rather than immediate.
“This manufacturing will replace imported products with local products using Indonesian plasma,” he said, adding that the transition would take place in stages.
Medicines produced locally are expected to be 8-10% cheaper than imported products initially.
Roh said medicines produced locally are expected to be 8-10% cheaper than imported products initially, with further reductions possible once manufacturing scales up in 2027, though pricing will ultimately depend on regulatory policies and market conditions.
A key execution challenge lies in workforce readiness. Plasma fractionation is a highly specialised process, and Indonesia currently lacks a deep domestic talent pool with hands-on experience operating such facilities at scale. As a result, SKPlasma Core Indonesia is relying on a limited pipeline of overseas-trained personnel to anchor early operations.
According to the project’s training roadmap, the first batch of 16 Indonesian employees underwent five months of off-site training at SK Plasma’s Andong facility between July and December 2025, focused on preparation for qualification and validation. A second cohort of 14 employees is scheduled for training in mid-2026, followed by a third batch of 12 employees in 2027, as the project moves from engine running toward commercialisation.
“These people will become the key personnel to operate our plant,” Roh said. “But technology transfer takes time. During this period, we are building capability step by step.”
The staggered training approach reflects the long lead time required to institutionalise operational knowledge in plasma fractionation, which involves tightly controlled production processes, quality assurance and regulatory compliance. Early-stage operations will hinge on a small group of personnel with full exposure to end-to-end fractionation processes, with broader on-site training expected only after systems are stabilised.
The joint venture has secured loan facilities of 3.7 trillion rupiah from Bank Mega and Allo Bank, which was announced recently, providing financial runway through the transition phase. Even so, the facility must still clear qualification, validation and GMP inspections before local production can begin at scale, a process expected to take most of 2026.
While Roh said more than five overseas markets have already expressed interest in importing PDMPs produced in Indonesia, exports remain a longer-term consideration.
“Our priority is to meet Indonesian demand,” he said. “Only if there is surplus supply will we consider exports.”
Beyond medicine production, the project has had a broader economic footprint. Nearly 1,000 workers were involved during the construction phase, and once operational, the plant is expected to employ hundreds directly, with thousands more across the supply chain. The Karawang site also includes space for future expansion.
Still, challenges remain. Plasma fractionation requires advanced GMP-compliant processes—capabilities held by fewer than 20 companies globally and only about 30 countries. The project’s success will also depend on Indonesia’s ability to sustain plasma supply. While the country’s population of more than 250 million offers a theoretical advantage, converting that potential into usable plasma depends on consistent donor participation.
“The more people donate, the more lives that we can save,” Cahyadi said.
