The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the emergency use of drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as an adjunct therapy in mild to severe COVID-19 cases, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said in a statement on Saturday.

Also read: Chhattisgarh: 7 die; 5 fall ill after consuming homeopathy medicine

Adjunct therapy refers to an alternative treatment, which is used with the primary treatment. It basically assists the primary treatment.

The drug is developed by DRDO’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. “Clinical trial have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence,” the statement read.

As per the statement, COVID patients treated with this drug show faster symptomatic cure.

“A significantly favourable trend (2.5 days difference) was seen in terms of the median time to achieving normalization of specific vital signs parameters when compared to Standard of Care (SOC),” DRDO said.

Also read: Does Ibuprofen worsen COVID symptoms? Study denies

2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) is a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, which can be easily produced and made available in plenty. It comes in a powdered form in sachets and can be consumed orally simply by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.