It is ironical that Pune reported the first loss of life due to swine flu in India as it is home to the country's largest biotech firm, which is also among the world's leading players trying to develop a vaccine to fight the H1N1 virus.

At the Serum Institute of India, a crack team of 16 scientists is running a battle against time as part of the global race to develop vaccines against the spread of swine flu that has claimed 10 lives in India, of which five were in Pune alone.