Drug firm Mankind Pharma on Thursday said it had received the licence from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to manufacture and market oral 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (2-DG), which is used for the treatment of Covid-19.
The drug was developed by the Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior. The clinical trials were conducted by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a DRDO lab, in association with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, said Mankind Pharma in a statement.
The company would manufacture the product at its facilities in Visakhapatnam and Himachal Pradesh, the statement said.
The office of the Drugs Controller General of India on May 1 had permitted the emergency use of 2-DG as an adjunct treatment for moderate to severe Covid-19 patients, Mankind Pharma said.
The drug is found to help hospitalised Covid-19 patients recover faster and is known to reduce the supplemental oxygen dependency among Covid-19 patients, the company said.
"Our objective behind this agreement is to ensure maximum reach of this medication to the deserving Indian patients suffering from the deadly pandemic," the company added.
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