PM Modi at Hyderabad's Bharat Biotech facility to review vaccine development

Hyderabad, Nov 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Bharat Biotech facility to review COVID19 vaccine development in Hyderabad , as he began his three-city visit to review ongoing coronavirus vaccine development work.

After landing at Hakimpet Air Force station, he was received by Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Director General of Police and other officials. He visited Bharat Biotech's facility located at Genome valley, a life sciences cluster about 20 km from the AF base, officials said.

Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virologyis now undergoing phase-3 trials.

The vaccine is being developed and will be manufactured at Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) facility in Genome Valley in Hyderabad. Modi will be interacting with scientists and senior management of the city-based vaccine maker onthe status of Covaxin, officials said.

The PM will be flying back to the national capital after a stopover in Pune, where he will visit the Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for the vaccine.

Earlier in the morning, Modi visited Zydus Cadila's plant near Ahmedabad.