Big pharma biopolitics: A critical study of vaccine trials in Indonesia - a legal review

Krisnayanto Krisnayanto () and Suryadi Suryadi ()

Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, 2025, vol. 9, issue 7, 1269-1277

Abstract: The globalization of pharmaceutical research has increasingly moved clinical trials to countries in the Global South, often raising serious concerns about ethics, legal oversight, and national sovereignty. This paper critically explores vaccine trials conducted in Indonesia by multinational pharmaceutical companies (commonly called Big Pharma) in collaboration with local institutions. Using a legal and geopolitical perspective, we examine how these trials reflect a broader system of biopower, where public health becomes intertwined with global market interests and strategic international agendas. By combining doctrinal legal analysis with critical discourse methods, our study finds that Indonesia's regulatory framework lacks the strength and independence necessary to protect its citizens from potentially exploitative biomedical practices fully. We recommend a legal approach based on human rights, emphasizing health sovereignty and ethical accountability.

Keywords: Big pharma; Biopolitics; Indonesia; Legal review; Vaccine trials. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://learning-gate.com/index.php/2576-8484/article/view/8883/2957 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ajp:edwast:v:9:y:2025:i:7:p:1269-1277:id:8883

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology from Learning Gate
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Melissa Fernandes ().