Covid Crisis: While the country is reeling with the brutal Covid wave, DCGI has given permission for the emergency use authorisation of anti-Covid drug which is being said to help patients recover faster.
The DRDO said, "The drug has been developed by DRDO lab Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. Clinical trial have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients & reduces supplemental oxygen dependence."
The DRDO also said that a higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients. In efficacy trends, the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints.
The patients need not have to worry about taking the medicine as it is not any kind of injection but 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, "Application of drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as adjunct therapy can be done on moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Being a generic molecule & analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced & made available in plenty."
In April 2020, INMAS-DRDO scientists had conducted laboratory experiments with the help of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and found that this molecule works effectively against SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits viral growth.
Based on these findings, DCGI Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) had given permission for the phase-II clinical trial of 2-DG in Covid-19 patients in May 2020.
Following its success in the phase 2 trial, the Phase-III clinical trial was conducted on 220 patients from December 2020 to March 2021 at 27 Covid-19 hospitals across the states of Delhi, UP, West Bengal, Gujrat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu and now DCGI has given the approval for emergency use of the drug which can be easily manufactured in India.