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All you need to know about anti-Covid-19 drug developed by DRDO

The 2-DG comes in powder form in the sachet and is taken orally
Last Updated 15 May 2021, 16:29 IST

As India grapples with the devastating second wave of the pandemic, an anti-Covid oral drug, developed by DRDO in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use.

The DCGI said clinical trials of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) showed that it helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.

So how does the drug work and when are the benefits? Let us take a look.

How does 2-DG drug work?

The 2-DG comes in powder form in the sachet and is taken orally by dissolving it in water. Ministry of Defence, in a statement, explained that the drug 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, it said.

What's the benefit of the drug?

The second wave, crippling the country's health infrastructure, is being largely blamed on the lack of oxygen and critical care beds. The 2-DG drug, DRDO claims, will save lives due to the mechanism of operation of the drug in infected cells and will also help patients in getting discharged sooner.

Sharing microscopic images of cells before and after the drug is administered, it said that the higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid-19 patients.

Credit: Defence Ministry/PIB
Credit: Defence Ministry/PIB

The patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than normal and took about 2.5 days less to recover than people who were not, DRDO said in the statement.

On Sunday, India recorded 4,03,738 new cases and more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for the second day in a row.

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(Published 09 May 2021, 04:15 IST)

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