Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday had released the first batch of DRDO’s  2-deoxy-D-glucose drug for COVID-19. The Drugs Controller General of India had approved the drug on May 1. Also known as 2-DG, the drug is expected to act as an adjunct therapy for emergency use in moderate to severe COVID-19 cases. 

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The 2-DG drug is a generic molecule and an analogue of glucose, which could be produced easily in plenty. In clinical trials, it showed reduced dependence on oxygen support. 

How does 2-DG work? 

The 2-deoxy-D-glucose drug will come in powder form in a sachet, which should be taken orally with water. 2-DG accumulates in virus-infected cells, and prevents the growth of the virus by stopping viral synthesis and energy production, the government’s release states. It reduces the patient’s dependency on supplemented oxygen by halting viral synthesis as well as the energy production of the virus.

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“The drug will be of immense benefit to the people suffering from COVID-19,” the release said.

The clinical trials showed that 2-DG drug helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients. COVID patients treated with this drug show faster symptomatic cure, the DRDO said. 

The drug has been developed by DRDO’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.