Anti-Covid drug developed by DRDO approved for emergency use

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the emergency use of drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as an adjunct therapy in Covid-19 patients.

The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed the drug, in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hyderabad.

"Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. Being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty.

Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence

"Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid patients," DRDO said in a statement on Saturday.

In April 2020, during the first wave of Covid-19, INMAS-DRDO scientists had conducted laboratory experiments with the help of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad and found that this molecule works effectively against SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits viral growth.

"In efficacy trends, the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints. The drug comes in powder form in sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production," the statement added.