Jakarta – At least 87 pharmaceutical factories in Indonesia have stopped operation since the crisis began to jolt the country in the second half of 1997.

Anthony Sunaryo, chairman of the Association of pharmaceutical companies (GP Farmasi) said the country had 280 pharmaceutical factories before the crisis. "Now we have only 193 left," Anthony told the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia. He said, however, he could not confirm whether the companies had been merged with other companies or went bankrupt.

The pharmaceutical industry, like many other industries, had reeled badly under the crisis although some had managed to improve performance, he added. He said the 87 factories were mostly small and medium size companies that could not pay for the soaring prices of imported feedstock. The country's pharmaceutical industry still is heavily dependent on imports for basic materials.