Institut Pasteur de Dakar and MiCo BioMed Korea partner to advance the development and production of PCR and ELISA tests in Africa
 
- Manufacturing facility will reside at a state-of-the-art biotechnology hub in Diamniadio, hosted by the Institut Pasteur de Dakar
- The collaboration will prioritise the development of laboratory tests for epidemics and outbreak response
- Assembly of PCR machines will also be initiated in Senegal for the first time

The Institut Pasteur de Dakar and MiCo BioMed Korea have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the partnership between the two organizations to advance the development and manufacture of laboratory diagnostics for epidemics and surveillance of outbreak-prone infections.
 
The facility will begin construction in Diamniadio, a city and special economic zone strategically located between the Senegalese capital Dakar and the international airport and the “Port of the Future” at Ndayane. The state-of-the-art campus includes a manufacturing platform for epidemic vaccine production, supported by CEPI and a consortium of global partners, an expanded facility to produce yellow fever vaccines, and a training site for next generation vaccine production and workforce development.
 
The first wave of a pipeline of products will include multiplexed laboratory tests for arboviruses and viral haemorrhagic fevers and multiplexed laboratory tests for respiratory pathogens.
 
Institut Pasteur de Dakar and MiCo BioMed Korea will deploy the technology across its surveillance network and initiate the responsive development of molecular and immunoassays in the event of the detection of a new or re-emerging pathogen.
 
Institut Pasteur de Dakar is an established and WHO prequalified manufacturer of yellow fever vaccines. Its expanded and upgraded manufacturing facilities position IPD to lead a regional vaccine production hub, contributing to a shared objective of bolstering health security in the region by establishing African-led vaccine manufacturing capacity. The same approach has been deployed for rapid diagnostics through the diaTROPIX facility, which has been certified according to ISO13485 global standards.
 
Dr Amadou Alpha Sall, CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar, said: “Africa remains in the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initiatives like these will enable Africa to break the cycle of “panic and neglect” in life science for epidemic threats and create the necessary foundations to ensure innovative new technologies will be developed and manufactured in Africa, for Africa and for the world.”
 
Dr Sungwoo Kim, CEO of MiCo BioMed Korea, has committed the technology, knowhow and experience of MiCo BioMed to deliver the ambitions of the collaboration with Institut Pasteur de Dakar.