DRDO's anti-Covid drug 2-DG to be available at hospitals from June

DRL to manufacture oral drug, which reduces oxygen dependency in patients

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hands over to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan the newly launched anti-Covid drug 2DG, developed by DRDO, on Monday. Photo: PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday released the first batch of a keenly awaited anti-Covid-19 drug called 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG). It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in partnership with Hyderabad-based private firm Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL). The new drug is not a vaccination, or a preventive measure against being infected by coronavirus. Rather, the 2-DG molecule hastens the recovery of patients who are already suffering from the disease and are, in most cases, facing severe oxygen dependency. The drug is dispensed in powder form in a sachet, and taken orally after being dissolved in water.

Rajnath Singh handed over the first batch of the drug in Delhi to the Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan. DRL Chairman Kallam Satish Reddy said his company would “increase the production capacity of the drug, which is expected to be made available to all hospitals by the first week of June,” stated a Ministry of Defence (MoD) release on Monday. Randeep Guleria, director at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Lt Gen Sunil Kant of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) were also handed over a box of the drug each.

“More will be handed over to different hospitals across the country for emergency use,” the MoD said. The so-called “anti-Covid-19 therapeutic application”, which would help patients to reduce oxygen dependency and spend less time in hospital, has been developed by the DRDO laboratory, the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) Speaking at the release, the defence minister congratulated DRDO and Dr Reddy’s Laboratory for manufacturing the drug. “2-DG drug is a new ray of hope in these challenging times,” he said.

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