DRDO's anti-COVID drug will be available to hospitals across the country from June

After the first batch of anti-COVID drug 2-DG developed by DRDO was released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here, it will be available only to AIIMS, Armed Forces Hospitals, DRDO hospitals and other places in need. While the drug shall be made available to all the hospitals across the country from the first week of June, said DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy. "The first batch of anti-COVID drug 2-DG will be used in a limited manner. It will be used in AIIMS, Armed Forces Hospitals, DRDO hospitals and any other places where the need arises. From June onwards it will be made available to all hospitals," said Reddy speaking to reporters here today.

The DRDO chief further said the production is underway and the second batch of the drug will come around last week of May. The regular production will take place from June onwards commencing from the first week, he added. He also mentioned that in the second batch the production span will be increased and from the first week of June it will be made available to all hospitals and other medical facilities in the country.

"This is because the production time and the cycle of this is about a month. After approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) the industry is working really hard but it will take a month to reach the normal production capacity," explained the DRDO chief. Speaking about how the vaccine treats COVID infected patients, Reddy said, "The vaccine works directly on the cells infected with COVID and gets absorbed in them. It then stops the virus from multiplying and moving to other healthy cells. It also works on the immune sysytem of the patient so that the person can recover speedily."

As far as the dosage is concerned, the person needs to take the vaccine twice a day for around five to seven days. It also depends upon the person's weight and doctor's prescription, he added. "Firstly, today the 2-DG drug which has been developed by DRDO in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories and approved by DCGI, it's first batch has ben released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today and our Health Minister has handed it over to AIIMS and DGAFMS," said the DRDO chief.

After releasing the first batch of anti-COVID drug 2-DG developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday termed the drug as a new ray of hope and said this is a great example of India's scientific prowess. Singh along with Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan released the first batch of 2-DG today.

Pursuing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for preparedness against the pandemic, DRDO took the initiative of developing an anti-COVID therapeutic application of 2-DG. In April 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the help of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad and found that this molecule works effectively against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits viral growth.

The 2-DG drug comes in powder form in the sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in 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.