DRDO's new anti-COVID-19 drug 2-DG makes lungs strong, here's all you need to know about the drug
By Lokmat English Desk | Published: May 11, 2021 01:52 PM2021-05-11T13:52:27+5:302021-05-11T13:52:27+5:30
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DRDO's new anti-Covid oral drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), was recently granted emergency use approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) as an adjunct therapy in moderate cases of COVID-19.
The 2-DG drug is expected to help hospitalised COVID-19 patients and reduce their supplemental oxygen dependence.
The anti-Covid oral drug has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) leading laboratory- Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
DRDO Project Director and Scientist of 2-DG, Dr Sudhir Chandana explained when the pandemic hit India in April 2020, they discovered that 2-DG halts the spread of COVID-19 inside the body cells.
After the findings, we asked the DCGI for permission to conduct clinical trials. In May 2020, we got permission for the clinical trials. By the end of October 2020 we had completed the second phase of trials, and the results were very good. Using standard care, 2 DG will be more beneficial for the Covid-19 patients," Chandana told News18
A total of 110 patients were part of the Phase-II clinical trials of DRDO's 2-DG drug.
The 2 DG drug, like glucose, spreads through the body, reaches the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and destroys the protein's energy production. The drug also works on virus infection spread into lungs which help to decrease patients dependability on oxygen.
The DRDO stated that the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug can easily be produced in India and made available in plenty to the citizens as it is a generic molecule and analogue of glucose.
The exact price of the 2-DG drug is not yet clear. But a packet of medicine can cost from Rs 500 to Rs 600. Dr. The price of the drug could be announced soon by the Reddy's company.
The anti-COVID drug 2-DG has been developed in powder form and is ingested orally by dissolving it in water.
