Signals, Powered By EquityPandit
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday launched the first batch of Anti-COVID drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The drug has been developed by DRDO’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences in partnership with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said that DRDO and Dr Reddy’s lab had gone through the complete trials and conducted trials across 30 hospitals and on a large number of patients. The first batch of 10,000 doses of 2DG medicine would be launched early next week, DRDO officials said.
The drug comes in powder form in a sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It collects the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique. In the ongoing second COVID-19 wave, a large number of patients are facing severe oxygen dependency and need hospitalization. The drug is expected to save precious lives due to the mechanism of operation of the drug in infected cells.
At the same time, the defence minister said that it is not the time to relax and get tired as there is nothing definitive about the course of the pandemic. “We do not need to be relaxed, nor should we get tired. Because this wave has come for the second time, and there is nothing definite about this. We have to take steps with full caution,” he said at the event in DRDO headquarters.
