NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his visit to three cities on Saturday to review coronavirus vaccine development work by going to Senior Pharmacist Zydus Cadilamanufacturing plant near Ahmedabad.
Using a PPE kit, Modi reviewed the vaccine development process at the Zydus Cadila research center in the Changodar industrial zone, more than 20 km from Ahmedabad.
After arriving at Ahmedabad airport from Delhi shortly after 9 am, Modi flew to the Zydus Cadila plant and held talks with promoters and company executives, an official said.
Modi spent more than an hour at the plant, before leaving for the airport, from where he will fly to Hyderabad.
Zydus Cadila has announced that the phase I clinical trial of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D has ended and phase II clinical trials have begun as of August.
In Hyderabad, Modi plans to visit the facilities of the vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech.
After landing at Hakimpet Air Force Station, Modi will arrive at the Bharat Biotech facility in Genome Valley at 1:30 pm. The facility is about 50 km from Hyderabad.
Covaxin from Bharat Biotech is undergoing phase 3 trials.
After his hour-long visit to the facility, the prime minister will head to Pune, where he will visit the Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for the vaccine.
The prime minister will arrive at the Serum Institute campus around 4:30 pm, an official said.
Modi’s one-hour visit to IBS aims to review the status of the candidate vaccine for coronavirus infection and learn about its launch, production and distribution mechanism, he said.
The prime minister will fly back to Delhi in the evening, the official said.
In video: Covid-19: PM Modi arrives at the Zydus Cadila facilities to review the progress of the vaccine
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