2-DG: DRDO's Covid-19 drug to be available for Rs 900, commercial launch in mid-June
The price of DRDO’s 2DG anti-COVID 19 drug has been fixed at Rs 990 per sachet by pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories , news agency ANI reported. However, the drug will be provided by government hospitals at a discounted price, officials told ANI.
2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) is an oral anti-viral drug for Covid-19 patients. The drug has generated a lot of curiosity after it was launched on May 17 by the Ministry of Defence. It has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a leading laboratory of the DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) in Hyderabad.
According to Dr Reddy's Laboratories, the drug will be commercially launched in mid-June.
Meanwhile, Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Thursday released the second batch of 2-DG. The mass production is expected to begin in the first week of June.
Earlier this month, the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) had approved the oral drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy to treat severe Covid patients. According to the Ministry of Defence, the drug during clinical trials showed that it facilitates faster recovery of hospitalised Covid patients and reduces dependence on supplemental oxygen. Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients.
In April 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the help of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and found that this molecule works effectively against SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits the viral growth.
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