Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Ahmedabad and proceeded to Zydus Biotech Park of the pharma major Zydus Cadila to review the vaccine development. The visit is the first of his three-city tour to personally review the vaccine development and manufacturing process in the country. After inspecting the progress at Zydus Biotech Park, the Prime Minister will also visit Serum Institute of India in Pune and Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad. Zydus Cadila’s plant is in Changodar industrial area near Ahmedabad city. The company had earlier announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D, has been completed and it has commenced phase 2 clinical trials from August. Post that, the Prime Minister will visit the Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for the vaccine. The SII is the largest producer of vaccines in the world by volume. The prime minister is also scheduled to visit vaccine maker Bharat Biotech’s facility in Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is undergoing phase-3 trials. Besides SII, Bharat Biotech has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for a country-made COVID-19 vaccine using the virus strain isolated by ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) based in Pune. “As India enters a decisive phase of the fight against COVID-19, PM 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,” the Prime Minister’s Office had said on Friday.
