Meet The Farmer’s Son, Man Behind Bharat Biotech And India's Own COVID-19 Vaccine

Dr Krishna Ella was born in the year 1969 to a family of farmers in Thiruthani village which is situated along the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Krishna M.Ella (L), Indian Chairman and Managing Director Bharat Biotech speaks during the launch of a new typhoid vaccine, Typbar - TCV, during a press conference in Hyderabad on August 26, 2013. Bharat Biotech launched what is claimed to be the world's first clinically proven typhoid conjugate vaccine. AFP PHOTO/ Noah SEELAM (Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP)

India is marching towards world’s largest immunisation programme against Covid-19 as Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) gave approval to two coronavirus vaccines over the weekend. While AstraZeneca-Oxford's "Covishield" got the nod first, Bharat Biotech’s “Covaxin” also got the go-ahead for restricted use by India's drug controller. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin  is India’s first indigenously made vaccine for the coronavirus. The team of scientists behind this herculean project include Dr Krishna Ella, a research scientist in molecular biology and founder of Bharat Biotech. Who is Dr Krishna Ella? Dr Krishna Ella was born in 1969 to a family of farmers in Thiruthani village which is situated along the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Growing up, Dr Ella was on the cusp of opting for his family's traditional occupation of farming when his father pushed him to pursue another profession. After completing his early education in his native city, Dr Ella moved to Bengaluru and completed his graduation from the University of Agricultural Sciences. Later he started working for a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, from where he earned a fellowship to study in the US. After receiving the fellowship, he moved to the US for his MS from the University of Hawaii and did his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, before taking a faculty position at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston. Bharat Biotech Becomes Reality In 1996, Dr Ella with his wife Suchitra Ella returned to India and started Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech has its manufacturing facility situated at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India. As of July 2020, the company has over 700 employees and has a presence worldwide. The company has been responsible for developing an eco-friendly recombinant and a naturally attenuated strain derived Rotavirus vaccine called ROTAVAC. They were one of the first to develop vaccines for viral diseases like Chikungunya and Zika. The company also produces vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis. Bharat Biotech has 140 global patents to its name and a product portfolio of more than 16 vaccines. READ |PM Modi Hails DCGI's Vaccine Approval , Calls It 'A Road Towards Covid Free Nation' The Genome valley-based pharmaceutical company was the first in the world to file a world patent on Chikungunya and Zika Virus vaccine. Dr Ella led firm priced its Zika virus vaccine at $1, while other firms sold the same for around $35 to $40. Won More Than 100 Awards Dr Ella has won more than 100 National and International awards which includes Bio Spectrum Person of the Year in 2013, University of Wisconsin Distinguished Alumni Award (2011), Business Leader of the Year 2011, Best Technology and Innovation Award from the Prime Minister of India in 2008. Dr Krishna is also part of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Union Cabinet, Member- Governing Body, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Member- Technology, Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC).