The Jump Shot

Under Jahja Tear Tjahjana’s leadership, Oneject Indonesia is enhancing its global and domestic auto-disable syringes’ market.

- Apriza Pinandita

The race to vaccinate the world’s population against COVID-19 reached a new milestone with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that at least 5.9 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally as of September 2021. In Indonesia, latest figures show that 140 million vaccine doses have been administered and 50 million citizens are now fully vaccinated, around 18% of the total population.

This commitment to vaccinating millions of people during the pandemic has fueled the demand for medical devices, including syringes. Oneject Indonesia, like other manufacturers of syringes worldwide, is aiming to quadruple its production capacity in order to meet market demand.

Oneject Indonesia is a pioneer in the local production of single use auto-disable syringes (AD syringes), seeking to contribute to a reduction in the use of conventional syringes which carry the risk of being re-used and thereby contributing to the spread of diseases. Although the WHO has recommended the use of AD syringes since last year, they are still not widely used by healthcare stakeholders globally due to a limited supply and a higher price compared to standard syringes. Locally, AD syringes sell for around Rp1,200 per unit 10% higher compared to standard syringes.

Jahja Tear Tjahjana, CEO of Oneject Indonesia, says the WHO guidance aims to modernize traditional injection practices. “However, because this would be a drastic change, immunization programs are being focused on for the time being. AD syringes presently account for less than 10% of the global market for injection devices, one estimated to be worth $12.33 billion in 2020. It accounts for approximately 10% to 15% of total syringe usage globally,” Jahja says.