Ministry of Health Inaugurates Vaccine Quality Control Laboratory in Casablanca

Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Health and Social Protection Khalid Ait Taleb inaugurated on Thursday the Laboratory for Quality Control of Vaccines and Biotechnology Products in Casablanca..

In collaboration with the US State Department’s Office of Threat Reduction, this project, which has a budget of MAD 25 million ($2.5 million), intends to give the Serum and Vaccine Center the ability to regulate the safety, effectiveness, and quality of biotech and vaccines meant for use within the country.

The laboratory is equipped with approximately 32 pieces of highly specialized equipment in the fields of immunology, bacteriology, toxicology, and molecular biology.

The project, which took two years to complete, “forms part of the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership project for the local manufacturing of vaccines and biotechnology products, in line with the Royal vision of Morocco’s vaccine sovereignty,” said Ait Taleb in a statement to the press.

“This project will enable us to support vaccine production, in particular at the MARBIO plant in Benslimane, which will have the capacity to produce over 150 million vaccine doses,” he added.

In line with the specifications of the European Pharmacopoeia and the manufacturer’s own guidelines, he also emphasized the analytical capability of the new laboratory, which will be able to control the quality of vaccines, therapeutic serums, and biotech products.

The laboratory’s other objectives are to serve as a collaborative center for the future African Medicines Agency (AMA) to oversee the quality of biological products and vaccines marketed on the continent, as well as to train managers from Morocco and Africa in vaccine analytical techniques.

“The aim is for the African continent to be able to produce over 60% of its own vaccine needs and export 30% of its production, which requires quality criteria that a laboratory of this kind can guarantee,” said the Minister.

For her part, US Consul General to Morocco Marissa Scott stated that both Morocco and the US are dedicated to promoting global health and safety goals.

Adding to Morocco’s recent leadership in health safety, Scott noted that “strengthening the capacity of the Serums and Vaccines Center is a symbol of our mutual commitment to ensuring the health and safety of our citizens,” particularly “during the most difficult days of the Covid-19 pandemic.”