PM reaches Hyderabad to visit Bharat Biotech plant

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday as part of his three-city tour to take the stock of COVID-19 vaccine development.

After landing at Hakimpet Air Force station here, he was received by Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Director General of Police and other officials.

He will be proceeding to 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 Virology is 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 on the 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.