New Delhi: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. on Monday announced the commercial launch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), which it will supply majorly to Government as well as private hospitals across India, under the brand name 2DGTM.
Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a lab of the DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hyderabad developed the drug while the country battled the second wave. Manufacturers claim the drug helps speed up recovery and reduce oxygen dependence.
This development comes after the DRDO on June 1 informed that the anti-Covid drug is approved for emergency use as an adjunct therapy to the standard of care in the treatment of coronavirus patients in hospital settings. “Ideally, 2DG should be prescribed as early as possible by doctors for moderate to severe Covid patients for a maximum duration of up to 10 days,” it said.
It also cautioned the administration of this drug to co-morbid patients as no significant studies have been conducted yet. It additionally informed doctors to abstain from prescribing the drug to pregnant and lactating women and children below 18 years.
The first batch of DRDO’s anti-Covid-19 drug was released on May 17 by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) permitted the emergency use authorisation of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), antiviral drug as an adjunct therapy for moderate to severe coronavirus patients.