DRDO-developed Covid 19 medicine to be made available early next week; scientists explain why it could be a game-changer in Coronavirus battle

In a good news for coronavirus patients, DRDO-developed 2DG medicine for treating COVID-19 patients will be made available from next week. Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved this anti-COVID oral drug for emergency use last week on May 8. This medicine will be used as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients, the defence ministry had said. 

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The official informed, "The first batch of 10,000 doses of 2DG medicine for the treatment of COVID-19 infected patients would be launched early next week and will be given to patients," Defence Research and Development Organisation officials told ANI on Friday. 

""The drug manufacturers are working on ramping up the production of the medicine for future use. 

The drug has been developed by a team of DRDO scientists, including Dr Anant Narayan Bhatt", informed DRDO officials. Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar who visited DRDO campus on Friday was briefed by DRDO scientists. They said how the 2-DG drug could be a game-changer in the COVID-19 battle. 

"Dr K Sudhakar was briefed by scientists about the ongoing efforts at the premier research organisation to find solutions to tackle the pandemic. 

This comes a day after the Minister`s interaction with another premier science institute, the IISc", informed a release by the state government. 

The 2-DG drug developed by DRDO is a big break-through and could be a game-changer in the battle against the pandemic as it helps in faster recovery of the hospitalised patients and reduces oxygen dependence. 

PM-CARES fund will procure 1.5 lakh units of Oxycare System at a cost of Rs 322.5 crore. 

Another innovative solution, the Oxycare system reduces the workload and exposure of healthcare providers by eliminating the need of routine measurement and manual adjustments of Oxygen flow. 

2-DG drug: An anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad. 

OxyCare System is a comprehensive system developed by DRDO to regulate oxygen being administrated to patients based on the sensed values of their SpO2 levels.