DRDOs 2-DG drug for COVID-19 treatment to be launched next week
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials have informed that the first lot of 10,000 doses of 2-DG medicine for treating coronavirus patients will be introduced early next week.
The 2-DG (2-deoxy-D-glucose) is an anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug which is developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.
"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," sources told news source.
"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," the sources added.
The Health Minister of Karnataka, Dr. K Sudhakar visited the DRDO campus where scientists briefed him about the 2-DG drug which could prove to be a game-changer in India's fight against COVID-19.
"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," said a release by the state government.
The 2-DG drug helps in faster recovery of the hospitalised COVID-19 patients and also lessens oxygen dependence. The PM CARES Fund had on May 12 approved the procurement of 1,50,000 units of the Oxycare System developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at a cost of Rs 322.5 crore.
Oxycare is a SpO2 based Oxygen Supply System which regulates the oxygen being administered to patients based on the sensed SpO2 levels.
Under the sanction, 1,00,000 manual and 50,000 automatic Oxycare systems along with non-rebreather masks are being procured, the defence ministry said in a release.
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