Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Ahmedabad around 9 am as part of his three-city tour to review coronavirus vaccine development work at facilities there. From the airport, Modi proceeded to pharma major Zydus Cadila’s plant near Ahmedabad to get information about its vaccine development, an official said.
PM Modi commended the the efforts of Zydus Cadila’s team to develop an indigenous DNA-based vaccine to tackle Covid-19.
He said that the government of India has been actively working with them to support them on this journey.
“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 behind this effort for their work. Government of India is actively working with them to support them in this journey,” Modi tweeted.
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 behind this effort for their work. Government of India is actively working with them to support them in this journey. pic.twitter.com/ZIZy9NSY3o
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2020
In the latest pictures, the PM is seen wearing a PPE kit. According to reports, he reviewed the vaccine development process at the Zydus Cadila Research Centre in Changodar Industrial Area, over 20 km from Ahmedabad.
The plant is located in the Changodar industrial area, over 20 km from Ahmedabad. Zydus Cadila recently announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D was over. It has commenced phase-II clinical trials from August.
An official said, Modi spent over an hour at the plant before leaving for the airport, from where he flew to Hyderabad.
Pankaj Patel, the cChairman of Zydus Cadila, had recently said that the company was aiming to complete the vaccine trial by March 2021, and could produce up to 100 million doses a year.
In Hyderabad, Modi is scheduled to visit vaccine maker Bharat Biotech’s facility. After landing at Hakimpet Air Force station, Modi will reach Bharat Biotech’s facility at Genome Valley at 1.30 pm.
The facility is around 50 km from Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is undergoing phase-3 trials.
After his hour-long visit to the facility, the PM will proceed to Pune, where he will visit the Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for the vaccine.
The prime minister will reach Serum Institute campus around 4.30 pm, an official said.
Modi’s hour-long visit to SII is aimed at reviewing the status of the vaccine candidate for coronavirus infection and to know about its launch, production and distribution mechanism, he said. The PM will fly back to Delhi in the evening, the official said.