Environment Minister Signs Contract worth SAR175 Million to Establish Regional Reference Laboratory for Disease Diagnosis, Vaccine Development in Riyadh

Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli has signed a project contract to construct and design the regional reference veterinary laboratory for disease diagnosis and the development and localization of vaccines in the Riyadh Region. The agreement was signed with a specialized national company at a total cost of SAR175 million. The laboratory will contribute to conducting research and applied studies that serve the field of animal wealth and health in the Kingdom and will become a regional reference laboratory for the Middle East at high-biomarker levels.
The ministry noted that the establishment of the laboratory is part of the initiative of the Veterinary Vaccines Production and Development Center for local pathogenic strains. It aims to monitor and control the spread of animal diseases, conduct specialized laboratory tests on most diseases, detect their causes, and determine the sequence of their DNA bases. Also, it will conduct research to develop new vaccines specific to the Kingdom from local microbial strains, increase the production of various local vaccines, and conduct applied research and studies that serve the field of animal wealth and health in the Kingdom. The laboratory will also work on following up and updating standard methods for detecting animal diseases according to the World Organization for Animal Health standards, and help comply with good laboratory practices within the quality system requirements.
The ministry added that establishing the laboratory enhances the ministry’s continuous efforts to develop new vaccines from local pathogenic strains with higher immune responses than global strains, aiming to localize the veterinary vaccine industry. This project will contribute to controlling and eliminating local diseases and preserving the animal wealth in the Kingdom.