Rajnath Singh to release first batch of 2DG medicine by DRDO

NEW DELHI: The first dose of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug, which has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is to be released on Monday, May 17, by Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, Government of India. The officials said that the first batch of 1000 doses of 2DG medicine would be launched early in the next week for treatment of COVID-19 infected patients.

The officials added that the drug has been developed by a team of DRDO, including Dr Anant Narayan Bhatt, and the manufacturers are working to increase the production of the medicine for future use. Clinical trials have found that the drug helps in speedy recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. A substantial percentage of patients treated with the 2DG drug also showed their conversation to negative RT-PCR.

DRDO took the initiative of developing the anti-drug therapeutic application of 2-DG. The scientists conducted the laboratory experiments with the help of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and results showed that the drug works effectively against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and controls the growth of the virus.

The drug comes in powder form in sachets which can be taken orally in water which accumulates in the cells infected with the virus and stops their growth by halting the viral synthesis and energy production. The drug is believed to benefit patients suffering from severe oxygen dependency and can save lives due to its operation in the virus affected cells.