MOLDIAG LAUNCHES THE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF THE FIRST 100% MOROCCAN MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR HEPATITIS C, DEVELOPED BY MAScIR

Backed by their extensive experience in the development of digital diagnostic kits and electronic devices, mainly based on molecular and spectroscopic technologies, the MAScIR Foundation teams have developed, clinically validated in Morocco and internationally, and obtained regulatory registration in Morocco of a first batch of diagnostic tests based on molecular technologies for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of hepatitis C, tuberculosis, leukemia and breast cancer with expression of the HER2 marker.

These tests, which comply with the best international standards, are highly effective and accurate and available at controlled costs, and are intended to contribute to the Kingdom’s health security and support :

  •   The national strategy to generalize healthcare coverage and access to care for Moroccan citizens;
  •   The national strategies for the eradication of hepatitis C and tuberculosis as a first step;
  •   The national strategies for the manufacture of health products and technologies
  •   Continental public health strategies.

In this context, and although an effective therapeutic protocol is in place that allows 95% of infected people to be cured, nearly 1.2% of the Moroccan population remains affected by hepatitis C (400,000 to 600,000 citizens in total today), but the majority is unaware of it due to a lack of diagnosis. In addition, complications from hepatitis C continue to silently kill an average of 13 Moroccan citizens per day.

The qRT-PCR test developed by MAScIR’s teams for diagnosing and quantifying the viral load, operating on open platforms, aims to provide practitioners and therapists with a rapid, effective and accessible means to strengthen the health of their patients.

The Virquant RT-qPCR test for the diagnosis of Hepatitis C will be produced and marketed by Moldiag, an industrial spin-off of the MAScIR Foundation.

It should be recalled that Moldiag’s mission is to produce in accordance with international standards and to market new molecular diagnostic tests for professional use at a reasonable cost. Since its launch, Moldiag has marketed more than 2.5 million Covid-19 PCR tests and has a production capacity of 6 million tests per month.

MAScIR, is an applied research institution, based in Rabat and Benguerir, belonging to the network of scientific laboratories at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.

MAScIR’s ambition is to promote and develop research and development poles in Morocco that meet the country’s needs for advanced technologies, especially in the field of medical biology.

With its vocation and ambition to actively support innovation for the benefit of the national economic and industrial fabric and thus contribute to the energy, food and health security of Morocco,  the MAScIR Foundation has skilled human resources and equipment that are at the cutting-edge of technology, To date, MAScIR has been able to file nearly 190 patents with extensions at the African regional level, to produce some 700 scientific articles in internationally recognized journals and to carry out more than a hundred projects and achievements with national and foreign industrialists, thus demonstrating its maturity and its capacities in scientific and applied research.