PM to visit Ahmedabad, Hyderabad & Pune today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three city visit today to personally review the COVID-19 vaccine development and manufacturing process. Prime Minister's Office in a tweet said that Mr Modi will visit the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and Serum Institute of India in Pune.

 

It said, as India enters a decisive phase of the fight against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to these facilities and discussions with the scientists will help him get a first hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s endeavour to vaccinate its citizens.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will first visit the Zydus Cadila Pharmaceutical’s vaccine development facility at Zydus Biotech Park near Ahmedabad today morning to personally review the Covid vaccine development process. The Zydus plant which is working on ZyCoV-D, a Covid19 vaccine candidate is located in Changodar area of Ahmedabad Gujarat. 

A helipad facility has been set up close to the plant for the Prime Minister’s visit. After reaching Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international Airport in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Modi will reach Zydus Biotech Park through helicopter. A Helipad facility has been set up close to the plant for the Prime Minister's visit. Zydus Cadila Pharmaceutical’s vaccine development facility at Zydus Biotech Park is working on ZyCoV-D, a Covid19 vaccine candidate is located in Changodar area of Ahmedabad.

 

According to the sources, Zydus Cadila is expected to submit the results of the Phase 2 trials next week, which will ascertain the safety, dose and efficacy of the potential vaccine. It will also apply for Phase 3 clinical trials of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in December. If all goes well, the company expects to introduce the vaccine by March next year. 

The Prime Minister's visit will boost the morale of the scientists in their fight against the Coronavirus



pandemic.

 

He is then scheduled to arrive at the Hakimpet Air Force Station by a special aircraft from Ahmedabad and reach the BBIL facility located at the Genome Valley on the outskirts of Hyderabad. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to interact with the scientists and others at the Bharat Biotech facility and will visit the vaccine manufacturing installations this afternoon. He will review the progress made so far in this direction with the concerned authorities at the BBIL. 

The SARS-CoV-2 strain for the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate was isolated in the Pune Based ICMR- National Institute of Virology and transferred to BBIL of Hyderabad. Currently the phase-III clinical trials of the vaccine candidate are underway by involving over 25 thousand volunteers in 22 states across the country.

 

According to BBIL, the vaccine is being manufactured at the Bio-Safety Level 3 bio-containment facility in its premises at the Genome Valley, located on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The Prime Minister will be briefed about various stages of the vaccine manufacturing and other processes during his brief visit to Hyderabad. The vaccine has already been tested on around thousand volunteers during I and II phases of the trails. The prime minister’s visit highlights the importance that the Government is attaching for fast production of vaccine for COVID-19.

 

Later, the Prime Minister is expected to fly to Pune, to visit the Serum Institute to review the production of corona vaccine COVISHIELD.  According to the schedule, after arrival at Lohegaon airport, the Prime Minister will be flown directly to Serum Institute by a special helicopter. 

Mr. Modi will discuss with the concerned officials about the overall supply and distribution system after the successful testing of this vaccine. He will be at the institute for about an hour and then leave for Delhi in the evening.