You and Me: Is 2DG the new wonder-drug?

Dr Mangala Borkar

Everyone gasped with relief when 2DG was declared as a panacea for COVID last week. It appears to be too good to be true - our home production, safe, cheap and ready to counter many evils of COVID! As we wade through the mess of shortages and dangerous side effects of treatment in COVID, this is not just a ray but a skyful of hope! It is not a new drug - it was tried for other illnesses earlier and has been poured into the new ominous bottle of COVID! Only time will tell if it is indeed life-saving! Let us hear from our experts:

2DG - Silver lining to the dark black COVID cloud.

Dr Vilas Magarkar,

Consultant Cardiologist, Dhoot Hospital.

The dangerous second wave of COVID 19 pandemic has brought with it the scarcity of Oxygen, ICU beds, ventilators, Remdesivir and Tociluzumab and now anti-fungals like Amphotericin B. Add to it the severely strained healthcare staff. In this suffocating atmosphere, a repurposed drug 2-DG (2 Deoxy 2 Glucose ) comes as a breath of fresh air.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its laboratory Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratory, Hyderabad , have developed this promising drug for Covid

Mechanism of action:

This drug ,like glucose, inhibits glucose breakdown and prevents the synthesis and multiplication of coronavirus in infected cells, especially in lungs.

Benefits

* * * * * * *Reduces patient’s oxygen requirement rapidly.

* * * * * * *It has been noticed that more than 40 percent patients were weaned off from oxygen in 3 days. Imagine the oxygen saved!

* * * * * * *Overall improvement is 2.5 days earlier as compared to standard treatment.

* * * * * * *Patient becomes RTPCR negative in 7 days.

*Hospitalisation, ICU stay and oxygen requirement are reduced remarkably. So, more beds will be available.

* * * * * * *Overall mortality is reduced. This is the ultimate goal.

* * * * * * *All the patients who participated in the trial recovered fully.

* * * * * * *Overall expenses of hospitalisation are reduced due to earlier recovery.

* * * * * * *There is no side effect.

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Presently, 10 days of treatment is recommended. The powder, dissolved in water, can be given even in ventilated patients, through Ryles’ tube.

The cost is approximately Rs 600.

Government may give subsidy to this drug.

Thus this safe ‘Made In India’ powder may help Covid patients to recover faster and may even save lives.

2-Deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) …. yet another molecule repurposed for COVID-19..!

Dr Mirza Shiraz Baig

Associate Professor of Pharmacology,

GMC, Aurangabad

“2DG” was approved (on May 8) by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), as an anti-COVID oral drug. It has been developed by DRDO's INMAS in collaboration with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories for emergency use, as add-on therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients.

During the first wave, in April 2020, DRDO and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad, conducted trial on this drug. Phase 2 A and phase 2 B trials were conducted in 6 and 11 centres in India, respectively from May 2020 to October 2020.

After the initial excellent results, phase 3 trial got approved from DCGI and was conducted in 27 centres of 10 districts of India, in 220 patients, from December 2020 to March 2020.

·It’s unique property is that 2-DG gets accumulates in the virus-infected cells selectively and prevents virus growth by stopping their synthesis and energy production. The drug is in a powder form, inside sachets. The patients will have to take it by mouth, dissolving it in water. So simple!

·When we start using 2-DG for COVID-19, we will be able to get further updates in terms of its efficacy and safety.

·Recent clinical trials by DRDO showed reduced dependence on oxygen among moderate cases of Covid-19, which is a boon in this critical period of oxygen shortage.

·Furthermore, DRDO says that the 2-DG drug can easily be produced and made available in plenty in the country since it is a generic molecule.

·It is highly advised to wait for advisory from Ministry of health and family welfare/ICMR to include 2-DG in standard treatment protocols for COVID-19 management.