In a major boost to fight the corona pandemic, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an anti-Covid oral drug for emergency use. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the medicine which has to be taken after dissolving it in water.
Named 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), the drug was developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a laboratory of the DRDO in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad, the Defence Ministry said here on Saturday.
“The drug is expected to save precious lives due to the mechanism of operation of the drug in infected cells. This also reduces the hospital stay of Covid-19 patients,” the Ministry said.
Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid patients.
The drug will be of immense benefit to the people suffering from Covid-19.