UNAIR NEWS – East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa with the Director General of Agro Industry from the Ministry of Industry Abdul Rochim inaugurated the Seaweed-based Capsule Shell Teaching Industry facility at Universitas Airlangga, Thursday, August 1. The inauguration of the teaching industry was one of the efforts made by Universitas Airlangga to mass-produce research results. It is the first production facility managed independently by UNAIR.
Seaweed-based Capsule Shell Teaching Industry Facility was built in 2018-2019 in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and UNAIR. The capsule shell machine and production equipment was given to UNAIR as a grant for the development and research of capsule shells.
In his remarks, UNAIR Rector Prof. Moh Nasih revealed that the capsule shell teaching industry’s journey to be inaugurated was quite long because it has to pass various tests.
“The right research is what can produce innovative products. It should not only be kept in a drawer, so it must be tested internationally. This is our commitment to our research into a product that is useful for the community, “said Prof. Nasih.
The UNAIR Professor of Faculty of Economics and Business revealed that this year, after the Capsule Shell Teaching Industry, the Stemcell Teaching Industry will be inaugurated, an innovation product from the Faculty of Medicine; and Dentolaser from the Faculty of Dental Medicine. UNAIR expects there will be 25 research and innovation products on the market by 2025.
“This production facility will meet 15 percent of the needs of capsule shells from seaweed,” he added.
Meanwhile, East Java Governor Khofifah said that the high cost of medicine was often discussed among national leaders. The pharmaceutical industry, according to her, did not accelerate as expected. The inauguration of this teaching industry is a fresh air where research conducted by academics can be utilized by the community and overcome some of the problems of national medicine.
“Today it feels like we have a fresh air as innovation is experiencing extraordinary acceleration. Thank you for the extraordinary cooperation between UNAIR and Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for the preparation of capsule shells which all this time has been made from gelatin, ” she explained.
The Teaching Industry facility is expected to play a role in meeting the needs of national capsule shells. The need of national capsule shells reaches 6 billion per year, and it is met by capsules made from gelatin coming from domestic production worth 5 billion and imports which worth 1 billion.
There is a great opportunity for capsule shells made from seaweed to be the substitute for gelatin capsule shells. The availability of abundant raw materials and guaranteed halal value is expected to encourage seaweed capsule shells to be commercial capsule shells. (*)
Author: Binti Q. Masruroh
