CM Pinarayi Vijayan meets heads of Pfizer in US; Likely to open a branch in Kerala
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Jun 10, 2023, 11:23 AM ISTKerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met with the heads of Pfizer, the leading American pharmaceutical company. The discussions were held to consider opening a branch of the company in Kerala too. The Pfizer team also examined how to best utilize Kerala's research potential in the areas of biotechnology, bioinformatics, statistics, and applied mathematics, according to the Chief Minister's office.
New York: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met with the heads of Pfizer, the leading American pharmaceutical company. The meeting was held at the Marriott Markway Hotel in New York, where the Lok Kerala Sabha conference is being held. Pfizer Senior Vice Presidents Dr. Raja Manjipudi, Dr. Kannan Natarajan and Dr. Sandeep Menon participated in the discussion with the Chief Minister.
Also read: Loka Kerala Sabha: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, team arrive in New York
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The company's Chennai-based research unit is considering expanding to Kerala, thus preliminary discussions have been undertaken about this, according to the chief minister's office. Pfizer asked about Kerala's potential to contribute to pre-clinical research. The team also examined how to best utilize Kerala's research potential in the areas of biotechnology, bioinformatics, statistics, and applied mathematics, according to the Chief Minister's office.
In the discussion, government representatives outlined Kerala's accomplishments in the area of health. Representatives of Pfizer also expressed their desire to collaborate with the newly established Digital Science Park that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Thiruvananthapuram.
In the meeting, officials from the government side explained the achievements of Kerala in the field of health. Pfizer representatives also shared their interest in working with the Digital Science Park recently inaugurated by the Prime Minister. A delegation of Pfizer's top officials will visit the state by September. Besides the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary VP Joy, Principal Secretary Suman Billa, Dr. John Brittas MP, IT Secretary Dr. Ratan U Khelkar, Snehil Kumar Singh and Startup Mission CEO Anoop Ambika participated in the discussion.
The delegation, which includes Speaker AN Shamseer and State Finance Minister KN Balagopal, will attend a number of events, including the American Regional Conference of the Loka Kerala Sabha. This event was marred by controversy after claims surfaced that expatriates were being charged cash to stand or sit close to CM Vijayan during the three-day programme.
Also read: Amid controversies, Kerala CM to leave for 8-day US, Cuba trip on June 7
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