Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday released the first batch of Anti-COVID drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The drug has been developed by DRDO's Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
Speaking on the occasion, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and DRL, Hyderabad for manufacturing the drug that will help the COVID patients to reduce oxygen dependency and recover quickly. He described the drug as a perfect example of the country’s scientific prowess and a milestone in the efforts towards self-reliance. “2-DG drug is a new ray of hope in these challenging times,” said Shri Rajnath Singh, expressing confidence that the medicine will play a crucial role in winning the fight against COVID-19.He said, the development and production of the drug is a shining example of public-private sector partnership to help the nation in these challenging times. He further said when the situation improves, he would personally like to honour the scientists who played a major role in the development of the drug as they deserve credit for this achievement.
DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said that DRDO and Dr Reddy's lab had gone through the complete trials and conducted trials across 30 hospitals and on a large number of patients.
The first batch of 10,000 doses of 2DG medicine would be launched early next week, informed DRDO officials on Friday.
The drug comes in powder form in a 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. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.
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 operation of the drug in infected cells. This also reduces the hospital stay of COVID-19 patients.