Over 60 foreign envoys visit leading pharma companies in Hyderabad

PTI, Dec 9, 2020, 3:22 PM IST

Hyderabad/New Delhi: Over 60 foreign envoys on Wednesday visited Hyderabad-based leading biotech companies Bharat Biotech and Biological E where they were apprised of India’s vaccine development programmes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In a first, a visit of more than 60 Heads of Missions was arranged to the research and manufacturing facilities of the leading biotechnology companies, Bharat Biotech and Biological E, in Hyderabad,” Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava tweeted.

Dr Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, made a presentation to the foreign heads of missions on various aspects of vaccine production in India, sources said.

In the presentation, the envoys were conveyed that 33 per cent of global vaccines are produced in genome valley in Hyderabad, they said.

The foreign envoys were taken to Hyderabad over a month after the Ministry of External Affairs briefed over 190 heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of leading international organisations on COVID-19 related issues.

According to officials, the tour of the foreign heads of missions in India to Hyderabad is being organised as part of MEA’s COVID-19 briefing initiative, and will be followed by visits to facilities in other cities.

As a number of COVID-19 vaccines are being developed, the focus is also now on their production.

India has already announced that its vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and it will also help countries in enhancing their cold chain and storage capacities.

In the last few months, India has provided medical supplies to nearly 150 countries, more than half on a non-commercial basis.

India also sent medical teams to a number of its neighbouring countries to help them in dealing with the pandemic.