New Delhi (NVI): Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today said the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission for emergency use of therapeutic application of drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), developed by it, as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.
The drug has been developed by DRDO lab Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, said the organisation which comes under the Ministry of Defence.
Clinical trials have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients & reduces supplemental oxygen dependence, the DRDO said.
Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients, it said, adding in efficacy trends, the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints.
“Being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced & made available in plenty,| it said.
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 DRDO said.
