Morocco to Launch Domestically Produced COVID-19 Vaccine in November

Sources at the Ministry of Health have indicated that preparations have started just after the launch ceremony and signing of the agreements related to the manufacture of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine in Morocco, presided over by King Mohammed VI. The daily Al Akhbar points out that officials from the Ministry of Health went, during this week, to the headquarters of the company Sotherma to get an idea of its capacity to produce "Made in Morroco" vaccines.

The Chinese company Sinopharm has already transmitted to the relevant services all the documents relating to the manufacture of the vaccine according to the industrial protocol adopted by China. The two countries have concluded an agreement that allows the Moroccan state to have access to Sotherma’s aseptic filling facilities for the manufacture of the Sinopharm anti-Covid-19 vaccine.

The delivery of the first vaccines and the launch of manufacturing in Morocco have been facilitated by the Moroccan expert in industrial biotechnology, Samir Machour, who chairs the company Samsung Biologics. He is said to have played a decisive role thanks to his skills and his extensive network of contacts within the directors of multinational companies specializing in the pharmaceutical industry. He stated, during his intervention before King Mohammed VI, that this project is an essential step that will allow the creation of a center of excellence in Morocco in the field of the biopharmaceutical industry on the African continent.

This mega-project, according to Samir Manchour, will be carried out in several stages, namely: the commissioning of vial and syringe filling units, the marketing of vaccines, the installation of a vaccine and drug manufacturing center in partnership with the company Recipharm, the fifth largest drug manufacturer in the world.