IPB University Bioinformatics Professor Creates iPrimeTarget, Accelerates Indonesian Herbal Medicine Discovery
IPB University Bioinformatics Professor Wisnu Ananta Kusuma has made a significant breakthrough in Indonesian bioinformatics research. He and the IPB University team developed iPrimeTarget, a web-based platform with a new computational algorithm called disassembly greedy modularity.
Through the iPrimeTarget algorithm and platform, researchers can now identify important protein groups, understand biological functions, and conduct network pharmacology-based analysis and unsupervised machine learning using artificial intelligence (AI).
“This technology opens up opportunities to accelerate the discovery of modern multi-component herbal medicines unique to Indonesia, including in the molecular target mapping stage,” said Prof Wisnu at the AI for Drug Innovation 2026 Outlook forum recently.
This breakthrough has also been published in Nature Scientific Reports. He hopes that his discovery can be a breakthrough in the development of herbal medicines in Indonesia, especially in optimizing natural ingredients as the basis for modern therapy.
“Indonesia has enormous biodiversity. However, the use of herbal medicines that have successfully reached the BPOM validation stage is still limited to around 25 phytopharmaceutical products,” explained Prof Wisnu regarding the background of his research.
Prof Wisnu explained how the complexity of Indonesia’s natural ingredients requires AI support to make the compound search process faster and more efficient.
“AI can help decode the complexity of herbs and narrow down the search space for targets, making the drug discovery process more efficient,” he explained.
Although AI offers great opportunities, Prof Wisnu emphasized that technology does not replace the scientific process. “AI plays a role in reducing research time, but wet laboratory validation remains the main pillar in drug development,” he said.
He also said that the biggest challenge is not only technology, but also the readiness of the ecosystem, ranging from data availability, computing infrastructure, to policy support.
The same forum was also attended by Edwin Simjaya (Chairman of AI and Software, Private Pharmaceutical Company), Rizman Abudaeri (Director of Market Access and Regulatory Affairs, Multinational Pharmaceutical Company), and Dr Sarunya Adirekthaworn (Chulalongkorn University). The panelists agreed that Indonesia and Thailand are in the early stages of AI adoption in the pharmaceutical sector, so cross-institutional collaboration is key to accelerating innovation.
This breakthrough is expected to pave the way for Indonesia’s independence in pharmaceutical research and strengthen the country’s position in AI-based health innovation in the Southeast Asian region. (Ez) (IAAS/ASY)
