PNS|Hyderabad
Pfizer,embroiled in a controversy over the terms it had set for its Covid vaccines, is likely to skip the 20th edition of BioAsia – the marquee Healthcare and Life Sciences event being organized by the Government of Telangana.
Highly placed sources said that there was no confirmation from Pfizer and that this could possibly be the first time the company may not be present at Bio-Asia.
As of now, BioAsia website yields no results about Pfizer’s role in 2023. In 2013, Pfizer Inc., USA was given the Genome Valley Excellence Award. Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, speaking recently in Nanded, alleged that the Union government had made all possible attempts to prevent Pfizer from entering India. The Telangana Chief Minister observed: “There is a company namely Pfizer, which manufactures vaccines. It was stopped from entering India during COVID-19. No matter how hard the company tried, they (the Centre) did not allow them to come here. What was the reason?”
“While the public wanted to get the best vaccine, people also wanted to buy it, yet the company was stopped forcefully. We also tried, many Chief Ministers also had talks with PMO and NITI Aayog, but they (Govt) did not allow them (Pfizer) to come,” KCR said.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar had previously claimed that Pfizer had “tried to bully the Indian government into accepting an indemnity clause for supplying its mRNA COVID vaccine”.
MoS Chandrasekhar, shared a tweet of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during the World Economic Forum in Davos, in which the pharma company official stated that senior leaders in the Opposition had put pressure on the Centre to procure foreign-made vaccines during the pandemic, rather than choosing Made-in-India vaccines.
Even though Pfizer’s participation is not yet confirmed, the United Kingdom, known for life sciences ecosystem with the growing presence of prominent life sciences companies like GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, UCB, and Pfizer, among others, has partnered with the 20th edition of BioAsia.
Over the course of the three days, BioAsia will witness eminent speakers from the Healthcare Industry across the world like Dr. Vas (Vasanth) Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis, Switzerland; Prof. Robert Langer, Prof. at MIT And Co-Founder, Moderna, Inc., USA; Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO, CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), UK.
The event will also witness distinguished speakers from the Indian industry like Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals (India); Satish Reddy, Chairman, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories; Dr. Gagandeep Kang, Virologist, and Professor, Dept. of Gastrointestinal Sciences, CMC Vellore.
The event will be addressed by K.T. Rama Rao, TS Minister of IT E&C, MA&UD and Industries & Commerce Departments, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce Dept., Shakthi Nagappan, Director of Life Sciences and CEO of BioAsia.
