Morocco’s Health Minister, Khalid Aït Taleb, opened a new state-of-the-art Quality Control Laboratory in Casablanca yesterday.
Funded by a 25 million MAD partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), the new lab, spanning an impressive 350m², is designed to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and safety of vaccines and biotechnological products for Morocco’s national use.
Equipped with over 32 advanced instruments in bacteriology, toxicology, immunology, and molecular biology, the laboratory is the product of two years of dedicated work.
The project furthers Morocco’s goal of producing vaccines domestically, said Aït Taleb, particularly in the MARBIO facility in Benslimane, capable of producing over 150 million doses of vaccine.
Part of a “Public-Private Partnership project for the local manufacture of vaccines and biotechnology products,” he said the lab is “in line with the Royal vision of Morocco’s vaccine supremacy.”
The laboratory will ensure that vaccines, serums, and biotechnological products adhere to European pharmacopeia standards and manufacturer requirements.
It will also play a crucial role in training Moroccan and African professionals in vaccine analysis, serving as a Collaborating Center of CDC Africa, and collaborating with the future African Medicines Agency to oversee product quality.
U.S. Consul General in Morocco, Marissa Scott, who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, praised the shared commitment of the U.S. and Morocco to advancing global health security and security priorities particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting Morocco’s leadership in challenging times.