Skopje, 9 January 2026 (MIA) — The molecular biology and genomics lab at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will begin performing state health insurance-covered gene panel testing (next generation sequencing) of cancers to identify targeted therapies, under an agreement signed Friday by Health Insurance Fund director Sasho Klekovski and Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics dean Davorin Trpeski.

HIF head Klekovski said the aim of the agreement was twofold: to reduce wait times for patients getting tested and to give undergraduates — future geneticists — the chance to gain practical work experience.

"This molecular biology and genomics lab is one of the most modern not only in Macedonia but also in the region," Klekovski said.

"Future geneticists for all of Macedonia's labs are educated here and we thought it would be good for them to have the opportunity to see in practice how these activities are done."

He said NGS gene sequencing panels were so far available for rare diseases (at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts), cancers (at the Faculty of Medicine's Institute of Pathology), immunodeficiencies and transplants (at the Faculty of Medicine's Institute of Immunology), forensic analysis (at the Faculty of Medicine's Institute of Forensic Medicine) and blood disorders (at the Faculty of Pharmacy), all covered by insurance.

Klekovski also announced the possibility of introducing preimplantation genetic testing, an in-vitro fertilization-related procedure that screens embryos for specific serious genetic conditions or chromosomal abnormalities before implantation to prevent passing them to a child, helping couples at risk of inherited diseases have healthy pregnancies and potentially reducing miscarriage risk by selecting genetically viable embryos.

"This increases the success rate of pregnancy," he said. "The healthier the embryo, the higher the IVF success rate."

He said state health insurance covered the costs for up to six attempts at IVF.

"Now we want to add services that will also increase the IVF success rate in terms of healthy children being born," he stressed.

Trpeski, the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said this was the first time in the faculty's 80 years that its researchers were allowed to contribute to the public health care system.

He thanked the Ministry of Education and Science for investing taxpayers' money into the molecular biology and genomics lab as well as the Ministry of Health for accrediting it so it could provide services to insured taxpayers and pay back the investment cost for building the lab. mr/