Indonesia: Food and Drugs Law

Indonesia's Constitutional Court has reinstated restrictions on patenting second medical uses of known products, reversing a 2024 reform that had opened pathways for such protection. The decision creates a critical distinction for pharmaceutical patent applicants based on filing dates, with applications submitted during the brief window when the restriction was lifted receiving different treatment than those filed after the Court's ruling.

On June 30, 2026, Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) issued BPOM Regulation No. 11 of 2026 on Food Packaging, which expands the list of approved food-contact substances and recognizes a broader range of permissible functions for those substances. The new regulation, which revokes BPOM Regulation No. 20 of 2019, reflects developments in packaging technology and materials science.

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) has reinstated a key provision limiting pharmaceutical patent protection, signaling a renewed commitment to balancing patent rights with public access to medicines. In its ruling to Case No. 255/PUU-XXIII/2025, the court partially granted a petition for judicial review of Law No. 65 of 2024, which had amended the country’s Patent Law, and ordered the restoration of a provision that had excluded certain pharmaceutical inventions from patentability.

To strengthen the national health system, the Indonesian Government issued Law No. 17 of 2023 regarding Health on August 8, 2023. Known as the Omnibus Health Law...

There is no prohibition against background checks on applicants. Employers in Indonesia can perform background checks on applicants themselves using publicly available information or by using a third-party service.

Law No. 33 of 2014 regarding Halal Product Guarantees, as amended by Law No. 6 of 2023 on the stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022...

The Indonesian Ministry of Industry plans to issue a new regulation on the calculation of local content for pharmaceutical products.

The Halal Law regulates the processing, materials, and certification of Halal products, in addition to establishing partnerships with international Halal agencies.

This article is the first in CNPUpdate's new Indonesia Investment Updates series and aims to provide you with a general overview and the laws and regulations governing foreign investments into Indonesia.