DRDO rejigs cancer drug to fight Covid; DCGI gives nod
Swati.Bharadwaj@timesgroup.com
Hyderabad:09.05.2021
A potential cancer drug — 2-deoxy-Dglucose (2-DG) — that has been repurposed for Covid-19, has received Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) nod for emergency use as adjunct therapy for moderate to severe hospitalised Covid-19 patients.
The anti-Covid-19 application has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
The drug, which comes in a powder form, must be taken orally by dissolving it in water. It works by accumulating in the virus infected cells and prevents growth of the virus by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.
According to DRDO, the results of clinical trials on Covid-19 patients showed that 2-DG helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces their dependence on supplemental oxygen. “It’s the selective accumulation in virally infected cells that makes this drug unique. Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid-19 patients,” it said.
Being a generic molecule and an analogue of (similar to) glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country, INMAS-DRDO added.
The drug, which is an inhibitor of glucose transport and glycolysis, was originally being developed for cancer as it cuts the supply of glucose molecules to cancer cells, which require higher glucose than normal cells to survive, thereby killing them.
Full report on www.toi-.in
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