King Mohammed VI chaired a ceremony today, during which he launched the construction works for the establishment of a COVID-19 and other vaccines manufacturing plant in the province of Benslimane, in the Casablanca-Settat region.
The industrial unit called SENSYO Pharmatech seeks to position Morocco as a self-sufficient powerhouse in vaccine manufacturing in the African continent.
The project will include three industrial lines, whose combined production capacity will reach 116 millions by 2023.
The industrial facilities will produce pre-filled syringes, liquid, and lyophilized vials.
With a projected budget of €200 million, the North African country aspires to start the production of trial batches by July 30, 2022.
In the medium term covering the period of 2022-2025, SENSYO PHARMATECH aims to transfer the “aseptic filling and active substance manufacturing of more than 20 vaccines and bo-therapeutic products, including three anti-COVID vaccines to Morocco in less than three years,” Moroccan news agency MAP reported.
The unit aims to cover over 70% of Morocco’s needs and more than 60% of the continent’s demand.
In the long term, between 2023,2030, the project seeks to create an African pole of pharmaceutical and vaccine innovation in the country.
The creation of the pole will be part of a partnership between major international partners in the fields of research and development of advanced technologies in vaccines and bio-therapeutic products, as well as all Moroccan institutions concerned, including the Ministries of Health, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Industry and Finance.
The vaccine manufacturing infrastructure is part of Morocco’s vision to boost pharmaceutical research, clinical development, as well as manufacturing and marketing of biopharmaceutical products.
The project comes as part of a public-private partnership, including the support of Swedish company Recipharm.
Original story on Morocco World News