UGM Launches Gama-CHA
JAKARTA – Gadjah Mada University (UGM) has launched a research product from the nation’s youth: a medical device for human bone tissue engineering called Gama-CHA. The research, conducted by Faculty of Dentistry lecturer Drg. Ika Dewi Ana, Ph.D., has passed laboratory and clinical trials and received registration from the Ministry of Health, allowing it to be mass-produced by Kimia Farma and Swayasa Prakarsa. The Gama-CHA product launch took place at the Borobudur Hotel in Jakarta on Monday (August 18th). The launch was attended by the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Dahlan Iskan; the Deputy Minister of Health, Ali Ghufron Mukti; and the President Director of Kimia Farma, Rusdi Rosman.
Ika Dewi Ana, speaking to reporters after the Gama-CHA launch, expressed her joy at the production of her decades-long research product. She hopes this product will reduce dependence on imports. “There are 3-4 similar products, but they are all imported; this is the only local product,” Ika said.
Ika acknowledged that Gama-CHA’s advantage over other products is that it has been clinically proven to be a good bone scaffold in regenerative surgery. Gama-CHA even allows dentists, oral surgeons, periodontists, and orthopedists to use it in therapy to accelerate the growth of lost bone without having to harvest healthy bone from the patient. Moreover, it can also use bone from deceased patients from tissue banks.
She added that this CHA technology enables jaw repair after tooth extraction, jaw fracture repair, and accelerates wound healing in bone tissue. This is because Gama-CHA contains carbonate, crystallinity, and polymer elements tailored to bone composition. “The collagen used is immunologically acceptable to the body, thus accelerating bone remodeling,” she explained.
The 45-year-old Yogyakarta-born woman said that it took her more than 15 years to research Gama-CHA. Her struggle was not easy. To reach production, the product was tested on small animals and large animals, before finally being tested on humans. Coming home from the laboratory at 3 a.m. is a regular occurrence for Ika. Fortunately, she has a husband and children who support her activities. “15 years is certainly not a short time, but my dream of helping the community has made me even more diligent in my research,” she recalled.
Not only is this product capable of healing bones in less than two months, but the price offered for this product is also much cheaper than other competitors. According to Kimia Farma President Director Rusdi Rosman, this product can be used by the Social Security Agency (BPJS) to help people who have difficulty affording products that are much more expensive. “This product is not limited to teeth, but can also be used on bones,” he said.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan personally congratulated and expressed his appreciation to Ika Dewi Ana, a UGM researcher who has been able to deliver her research product for wider public use. Dahlan explained that the birth of this research product began with a visit to UGM about one and a half years ago, where he inquired about UGM research products that are ready to be produced by state-owned enterprises. “I’ve been asking continuously about how it’s going to be implemented. If it were launched today, I’d be very happy. It shows that we’re not just talkers, but can actually make things happen,” he said.
No less importantly, according to Dahlan, the more research results in the field of drugs and medical devices from university research that can be mass-produced will reduce the reliance on imported medical devices, which has reached 90 percent. “Someone has to take an initiative like this. Even if I’m not a minister, I’ll continue to ask the President Director (of Kimia Farma),” he said.
Wise Minister of Health Ali Ghufron Mukti expressed a similar sentiment, saying that similar products resulting from Ika Dewi Ana’s research are currently dominated by products from Japan and Korea. Therefore, he welcomed the innovative work of the Gadjah Mada University researcher.
Ghufron added that the public is currently in great demand for products in the form of drugs and medical devices following the implementation of the National Health Insurance. This could be an opportunity for the national medical device industry. “The need for drugs and medical devices is increasing, and researchers, manufacturers, and local governments must address this. Currently, the need for drugs and medical devices has increased two to threefold,” he explained.
Vice Rector for Cooperation and Alumni, Prof. Dr. Dwikorita Karnawati, M.Sc., Ph.D., stated that currently, eight UGM research products are ready to be marketed to the public. To distribute these research products, UGM is partnering with industry for mass production. “UGM is ready to release eight products: six herbal products and two medical devices. One of these two medical devices is Gama-CHA,” she said.
Rita, as she is familiarly known, said It’s not easy for UGM to produce research products that can be adopted by industry and mass-produced, like Gama-CHA. However, the university is confident that by establishing partnerships and convincing industry stakeholders, UGM’s research products will continue to be useful to the public. (UGM Public Relations/Gusti Greheson)
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/9185-ugm-luncurkan-gama-cha/
