Rajnath Singh to Distribute DRDO’s 2-DG Anti-COVID Drug Today

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is distributing around 10,000 doses of the anti-COVID drug to hospitals today.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh 

(PTI Photo)

An anti-COVID drug developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is being launched on Monday, 17 May. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is distributing around 10,000 doses of the same to some hospitals in the national capital.

The drug, called 2-deoxy-D-glucose or 2-DG, was developed by a DRDO lab in collaboration with the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the country’s top drug regulator, has approved the medicine for emergency use.

Phase 2 trials, conducted between May and October 2020, the medicine was found to be safe for COVID-19 patients. The drug was also found to be effective in reducing patient’s supplemental oxygen dependence.

A kind of pseudo glucose molecule in the drug stops the virus in its tracks, the defence body says. The medicine comes in a powder form and can be taken with water.

2-DG is one of the few medicines in the world that have been designed specifically to treat COVID-19. For the virus to be treated, till now, there are only experimental drugs and procedures, including Remdevisir, Ivermectin, plasma therapy and some steroids.

Releasing the drug on Monday, Singh tweeted:

After he handed over the drug to Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Health Minister said, “Not just for India but I hope it serves in the fight against COVID, globally in the coming days. I thank and congratulate DRDO and its scientists.”

India’s second wave has been wreaking havoc across the country with more than 3 lakh new infections per day for the past few weeks and a severe shortage of vaccines and medical oxygen. Amid the crisis, cases of a secondary infection, commonly called 'Black Fungus', have also emerged from several states.

Experts say because of the misuse of steroids, which can diminish the natural immunity of the body, fungal and bacterial infections are killing active and cured COVID patients.

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria was quoted as saying, "Misuse of steroids is a major cause behind this infection. Chances of fungal infection increase in the patients who are diabetic, COVID positive and those who are taking steroids. To prevent it, we should stop the misuse of steroids,” NDTV reported.

(With inputs from NDTV)