Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday as part of his three-city tour to take the stock of COVID-19 vaccine development. The Covaxin vaccine being developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech is undergoing phase III clinical trials.

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

He then proceeded to Bharat Biotech's facility located at Genome valley, a life sciences cluster about 20 km from the AF base, officials said.

The Hyderabad based pharma company is presently carrying out phase III trials of the Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin. Bharat Biotech is developing the vaccine in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

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 interacted 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.