BioEngineering, LTD, is a small, engineering firm based in Skopje, North Macedonia, specializing in research and development of new products, systems and innovative technologies in the field of ecology and industrial biotechnology. When the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting people’s health and well-being and threatened to overwhelm the country’s healthcare systems, Ivan Kungulovski, BioEngineering LTD CEO, recognized the potential his business had to help in this time of crisis.
Co-funding from the Fond for Innovation and Technological Development, through the World bank Skills Development and Innovation support project, enabled the company to expand their work in the field of molecular biology, which allows it to perform routine microbiological and meta-genomic analysis.
“Part of the equipment in the laboratory was converted and transferred to the genetics laboratory to boost existing capacity for the increased need for COVID-19 tests,” said Ivan Kungulovski. “Our laboratory was the first to start doing these tests in the country at the end of January 2020. By transferring the biosafety level 2 working cabinet, we managed to get a laboratory with biosafety level 3 protocols that are needed for work with this virus.”