Indian pharma major Dr Reddy’s DRDO’s 2DG anti-COVID 19 drug price has been fixed at Rs 990 per sachet, however, the government hospitals, central and state governments will get the drug at a discounted price.
The second batch of anti-COVID drug 2-DG was released by Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Thursday and mass production is expected to begin from the first week of June.
2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) is an oral antiviral drug for treating Covid-19 patients. The drug has created a lot of curiosity after it was launched on May 17 by the Ministry of Defence.
The drug has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a leading laboratory of the DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) in Hyderabad.
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The drug will be commercially available from mid-June, Dr Reddy's Laboratories informed.
Earlier in May, the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) approved the oral drug for emergency use as an additional therapy to treat severe Covid patients. The Ministry of Defence had stated that the drug during clinical trials showed that it helps faster recovery of hospitalised Covid patients and reduces dependence on supplemental oxygen. A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients.
“The drug is expected to save precious lives due to the mechanism of its operation in the infected cells. This also reduces the hospital stay of COVID-19 patients,” the defence ministry had said in a statement.
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The 2DG drug’s demand is going high, but supply is low. Last week, it was reported that the government was considering taking in three more firms to increase the production of 2DG drugs.