Pioneer in the Development of Indigenous Modern Medicine
Jakarta, 15 March 2023 - Dexa Group molecular pharmacologist and Atma Jaya Catholic University lecturer Prof Raymond Tjandrawinata, a pioneer in the development of Indonesia's original modern medicine, has been ranked among the top scientists in the pharmaceutical and medical and health fields for the Indonesian region. The assessment was given by The AD Scientific Index, a ranking and analysis system based on scientific performance to value added scientific productivity of each scientist.
Prof. Raymond Tjandrawinata, Farmakolog Molekuler Dexa Group dan Unika Atma Jaya yang merupakan pelopor pengembangan Obat Modern Asli Indonesia (OMAI). (Dok. Dexa)
Prof Raymond has conducted many researches and clinical trials on drugs, both domestically and in various parts of the world. The products of his research are not only marketed in Indonesia, but also abroad. In addition to developing modern drugs native to Indonesia with Dexa Laboratories of Biomolecular Sciences (DLBS) since 2005, Prof Raymond Tjandrawinata has also researched many chemical-based drugs. The research has been recognised and obtained 64 patents in Indonesia and abroad.
"I am very grateful and thankful to my friends who have helped me to reach the ranking of the top 2 per cent of scientists in Indonesia, with a ranking of number 2 in the pharmaceutical sector and number 9 in the field of medicine and health," said Prof Raymond, who also serves as Director of Research and Business Development of Dexa Group (14/3/2023).
The AD Scientific Index lists the world's top scientists on its website and is updated annually. It assesses more than 1.2 million scientists at 19,538 universities in 216 countries. The AD Scientific Index writes that Prof Raymond is in the top 2 per cent of all scientists recorded in Indonesia by the institution.
Prof Raymond is ranked 2nd in the field of pharmacy and 9th in the field of medicine and health in Indonesia. This means that his scientific work is widely used as a reference by researchers in the fields of pharmacy, medicine and health in Indonesia, while at the Asian level, Prof Raymond is ranked in the top 11 per cent for the field of pharmacy and the field of medicine and health out of 398,548 scientists in these fields.
The professor and researcher at the Faculty of Biotechnology, Catholic University of Indonesia Atma Jaya, has travelled the world of science to Uncle Sam's country. In 1991, a female astronaut from the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) named Dr Millie Hughes-Fulford invited Prof Raymond to be involved in the Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS 1) research project. The project flew a space shuttle into deep space to research osteoporosis in astronauts in zero gravity.
Prof Raymond developed a career in drug research from organic synthetic materials since he studied up to the Post Doctoral Fellow level at the University of California, San Francisco. He can be considered as one of the first Indonesian sons to study genetic engineering in the '80s, because during that period, engineering science in the United States was just developing and in Indonesia had not yet been fully explored.
Finally, in the early 2000s, Prof Raymond was called to return to the country and pursue a career in a leading pharmaceutical company, PT Dexa Medica. At that time, the founder of PT Dexa Medica, (late) Rudy Soetikno had a vision to develop medicines from Indonesia's natural resources. Then in 2005, Prof Raymond and the scientists at DLBS developed OMAI until today. OMAI is a proudly Indonesian pharmaceutical product because it has a Domestic Component Level (TKDN) above 80 per cent and has been exported to 10 countries on 3 continents.
the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia Honorary Professor
Prof Raymond Tjandrawinata received the title of Honorary Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the Atma Jaya Catholic University (Unika Atma Jaya) Jakarta. This title was given for the first time by Unika Atma Jaya because he has proven to have breakthroughs and academic contributions to the development of pharmaceutical biotechnology.
Prof Raymond received his undergraduate degree in Molecular Physiology from the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California. Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, obtained from University of California, Riverside and Post Doctoral Programme in Molecular Pharmacology, obtained from University of California San Francisco.
He obtained his master's degree in business strategy at Golden Gate University's Edward S Ageno School of Business, San Francisco. During his career, Prof Raymond contributed to several agencies, such as NASA Kennedy Space Center Florida, and Glaxo SmithKline in California.
