A drug to treat coronavirus patients, developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), has been approved for emergency use byThe Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the country’s top drugs controller, as India battles the second wave of the pandemic that is killing thousands every day.
The drug comes in powder form in a sachet and is taken orally by dissolving it in water.
The drug has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad.
DCGI cleared the drug after clinical trial results showed that a molecule present in the drug helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
“Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. Being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty. Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid patients,” DRDO said in an official statement on Saturday.
In April 2020, when the first wave of pandemic struck India, scientists at DRDO’s laboratory, Inmas, conducted experiments with the help of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and found that this molecule works effectively against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits the viral growth. Based on these results, the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) permitted Phase-II clinical trial of 2-DG in Covid-19 patients in May 2020.
Massive international help has been pouring in as India reports shortage of essential drugs, medical oxygen, and other supplies needed for Covid patients after the sudden surge in COVID-19 cases crippled the country’s healthcare system.
