PM reaches Ahmedabad to review coronavirus vaccine development

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed here on Saturday as part of his three-city visit to ireview coronavirus vaccine development work at facilities there, an official said. From the airport, Modi proceeded to pharma major Zydus Cadila's plant near Ahmedabad to get information about its vaccine development, official said.

The plant is located in the Changodar industrial area, over 20 km from Ahmedabad. Modi will be at the plant for an hour, beginning 9.30 am, the official said. Zydus Cadila has announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D was over and it has commenced phase-II clinical trials from August. From Ahmedabad, Modi will fly to Hyderabad where he 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.