Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday launched the first lot of Anti-Covid drug 2DG developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
Vardhan said the support of DRDO along with the leadership of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has led to the launch of the country’s very first indegenous research based outcome to tackle against Covid-19 and will reduce the recovery time and dependency on oxygen.
Vardhan further added, “Not just for India but I hope it serves in the fight against Covid, globally in the coming days. I thank and congratulate DRDO and its scientists.” This is at the time when the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given an approval for the oral drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 patients.
The defence ministry issued a statement earlier in May that the clinical trials of the drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) depicted that it helps in accelerated recovery of hospitalised patients and drop in the supplemental oxygen dependence.
The Ministry had said, “In the ongoing second Covid-19 wave, a large number of patients are facing severe oxygen dependency and need hospitalisation. The drug is expected to save precious lives due to the mechanism of its operation in the infected cells. This also reduces the hospital stay of Covid-19 patients.”
The Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) have developed the anti-Covid therapeutic application of the drug. The ministry stated the drug is available in powder form in a sachet and is orally consumed after dissolution in water.
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