Hyderabad lived up to its tag as vaccine capital, says KTR

Hyderabad: K T Rama Rao, Minister for Industries & IT, Telangana, on Monday said the quick response by the life sciences sector in Hyderabad to the Covid-19 pandemic bolstered city's image as the vaccine capital of the world.

Inaugurating the 18th edition of BioAsia 2021, the Minister recalled how the Hyderabad's life science industry showed its strength in past one year, especially, when the then US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hydroxychloroquine medicine which was initially used for the treatment of Covid-19.

On the occasion, the Minister presented Genome Valley Excellence Award to city-based Bharat Biotech. The company's founders Dr Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella, who played key role in the development of Covaxin, received the award.

"I take pride in saying that Hyderabad rose to the occasion and made an impact for the world to witness. Our position as the 'vaccine capital of the world' was further bolstered and it is a matter of pride that the world is looking to India and Hyderabad," the Minister said. The visit of foreign envoys from over 60 countries and that of the Prime Minister to Genome Valley is a testimony to the cluster's significance in the global context, he pointed out.

He expressed his happiness over the Hyderabad pharmaceutical companies in augmenting the supply by manufacturing and distributing the Covid vaccine to the world. "Our scientists and entrepreneurs have given the life sciences sector its moment in the spotlight, with accelerated development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for the Covid treatment", he said.

On the two-day BioAsia event, he said he was pleased that the event was being organised amidst the pandemic. "The deliberations at this year's event will be more relevant than ever in the wake of the pandemic," he said.

The Minister expressed optimism that the Telangana's life sciences sector would cross $100 billion mark from the current $13 billion mark.

On the occasion, the Telangana government and Cytiva signed a MOU to set up a biopharma scale-up facility, B-Hub, in Genome valley for accelerating the growth of biopharmaceutical sector.

Over 30,000 people from around the world are participating BioAsia 2021 which is being organised in virtual mode in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

I take pride in saying that Hyderabad rose to the occasion and made an impact for the world to witness. Our position as the 'vaccine capital of the world' was further bolstered and it is a matter of pride that the world is looking to India and Hyderabad — KT Rama Rao