PM reviews vaccine development at 3 facilities

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited India’s top vaccine hubs — Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune — to review the development of Covid vaccine and the manufacturing process.

The PM’s first two stops were the facilities manufacturing indigenous Covid-19 vaccines — Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad and Bharat Biotech facility in Genome Valley, Hyderabad.

Pankaj Patel, Zydus chairman, said the Prime Minister's visit encouraged the team to put in more efforts.

The PM wound up the daylong tour with a visit to Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the manufacturing collaborator for Oxford University-AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine that has shown over 70 per cent efficacy during recent trials. “Visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to know more about the indigenous DNA-based vaccine being developed by Zydus Cadila. I compliment the team for its effort,” the PM tweeted.

At Hyderabad, he took a briefing on Covaxin, India’s first indigenous Covid vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech and the ICMR. It is in Phase 3 of clinical trials.

At Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the PM took stock of the late stage Phase 3 trial process for Covishield.