Indian DRDO-developed anti-Covid oral drug gets emergency use approval

Indian Drug regulator DCGI has approved a DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organisation)-developed anti-Covid oral drug for emergency use.

According to a report, the powder form of the drug can be consumed after dissolving in water.

It is a DRDO lab and Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories developed the anti-Covid therapeutic application of the drug called 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the drug after clinical trial results which showed that a molecule present in the drug helped in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduced supplemental oxygen dependence.

A higher proportion of patients treated with the drug tested negative for Covid in RT-PCR tests.

In the second phase of trials between May and October last year, the drug was found to be safe in COVID-19 patients and showed significant improvement in their recovery. The second round was conducted in 110 patients. While the third round of trials was conducted in six hospitals, “dose ranging” was conducted in 11 hospitals across India, a NDTV report said.