Covid-19: KT Rama Rao visits Genome Valley to check status of vaccine development

Telangana Industries and Information Technology Minister KT Rama Rao visited the facilities of Bharat Biotech and Biological E at the Genome Valley to check on the status of the development of vaccine for Covid-19.

He assured of all the help from the government to their efforts in developing the vaccine.

“He visited the facilities to know about the challenges that they may be facing in the vaccine development process. He also wanted to know what kind support that the government can offer,” a State government official said.

He later took part in a panel discussion on ‘The Vaccine Race: Balancing Science and Urgency’. “The life sciences sector has emerged as the key sector and the vaccine industry is the biggest ray of hope. The world is looking up to us to provide a solution,” the Minister said.

“India’s vaccine sector will play a critical role in developing and producing a vaccine at a scale for distribution across the world,” he said.

Being the vaccine capital of the world, it is the responsibility of the State to enable the development of vaccination against Covid-19, he said.

Krishna M Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, asked the government to announce procurement strategies for Covid-19 vaccines, when they were ready for use.

He said that the clearance process for the vaccine development should be de-centralised and regional offices of regulatory bodies should be created in the States to fasten the process.

Mahima Datla, Managing Director of Biological E, said that the funding for vaccine development was extremely fragmented. “We need to address this issue as this will have a long-term impact for the vaccine development in the country,” she said.