DRDO’s 2-DG drug for Covid-19 treatment to be launched next week

New Delhi : For the treatment of Corona patients, the first batch of 10 thousand doses of DRDO drug ‘2-DG’ will be launched early next week. DRDO officials gave this information. Officials said that work is being done to accelerate production for the use of medicine in future. This drug has been made by a team of DRDO scientists, including Dr. Anant Narayan Bhatt.

Yesterday, the Health Minister of Karnataka Dr. K Sudhakar visited the DRDO campus. DRDO scientists briefed the minister about the 2-DG drug that could be a game-changer in the battle of Covid. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Health, Sudhakar was quoted as saying, “The 2-DG developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is a major achievement. It can play an important role in tackling the epidemic. This will help patients admitted to hospitals to recover faster and the dependence on medical oxygen will also decrease.”

During the first wave of epidemic in April 2020, INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory tests of this drug. They found that this drug works effectively against SARS-COV-2 virus and prevents viral growth. Phase II clinical trials of 2-DG in Covid patients was allowed in May 2020. The Phase-II trials conducted from May to October 2020 found the drug safe and showed significant improvement in their recovery. In Phase-II, 110 patients were trialled.

DCGI allowed phase-3 clinical trials in November 2020, based on successful results. Phase-3 clinical trials were conducted on 220 patients between December 2020 to March 2021 in 27 Covid hospitals in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Detailed data of the Phase III clinical trial were presented to DCGI. A significantly higher proportion of recovery was seen in patients. A similar trend was seen in patients older than 65 years.