November 26, 2020 1:40:35 pm
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Serum Institute of India, which has an agreement with AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine from Oxford University, on Saturday to understand the production and distribution process of the vaccine.
“The Honorable Prime Minister’s visit to Pune has been confirmed and he will visit the Serum Institute. The minute-by-minute program is expected soon, ”said Pune Division Commissioner Saurabh Rao. Senior administrative and police officials from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad I have already held meetings for various arrangements to be made for PM Modi’s visit.
In view of this, a ‘familiarization visit’ to Pune by foreign ambassadors and high commissioners on November 27 was postponed until December 4.
Rao added: “Ambassadors and high commissioners from around 100 countries are scheduled to come to Pune on December 4. Ambassadors and high commissioners would visit both the Serum Institute and Gennova Biopharmaceuticals.” Officials have said that the prime minister and diplomats are visiting Pune to “understand the process of producing and distributing vaccines.”
Meanwhile, in an email response to inquiries For The Indian Express, Adar Poonawalla, executive director of the Serum Institute, said phase 3 trials of the Covishield vaccine were underway. “While the UK test results have been published, we expect the Indian test data to be available in a month or so,” he said. “We want the vaccine to be affordable and accessible to everyone. For now, it is priced at $ 5-6 per dose. The government of India will receive a much more affordable price of US $ 3-4, as it will buy the vaccines in a larger volume, ”Poonawalla said. While the doses will be made available to the Indian government on a priority basis, the vaccine will likely be available in private markets after March-April next year, Poonawalla said.
Meanwhile, Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is set to begin phase 1 human clinical trials of its Covid 19 vaccine candidate. Modern Y Pfizer, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is the only Indian company that has worked on the manufacture of the Covid vaccine based on mRNA. The first two Covid 19 vaccines that announced Phase 3 results were based on mRNA.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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