An anti-COVID-19 therapeutic drug created by DRDO referred to as drug2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been provided emergency approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for Coronavirus patients in the nation. The drug, which was created by the DRDO in association with pharma main Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, has been located to be efficient in controlling the viral development, resulting in more rapidly recovery of hospitalised patients, DCGI stated. The anti-Covid-19 drug was created by DRDO last year and has undergone 3 phases of clinical trials among April 2020 and March 2021.
While the 1st phase trial of the drug was completed in April-May 2020, the second phase clinical trials sanctioned by the DCGI continued among May 2020 and October 2020 last year. During the second phase clinical trial the drug was administered to a total of 110 patients admitted in about 11 hospitals in the nation. The second phase trial on typical showed that patients administered with the drug recovered 2.5 days earlier than other patients.
Even as the Coronavirus situations plateaued in the nation just after September last year, the DRDO applied for the third phase clinical trial of the drug in November 2020. The third phase clinical trials sooner or later had been permitted to be carried out among December 2020 and March 2021. The quantity of participants in the third phase elevated to 220 patients admitted across 27 hospitals in a quantity of states-Delhi, UP, West Bengal, Gujrat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Faster recovery and lowered dependence on Oxygen therapy was reported in patients administered with the drug in phase 3 clinical trials as effectively.
With the second wave of Coronavirus wreaking havoc in the nation, the DCGI granted emergency drug use approval earlier this month. The drug which constitutes an analogue of glucose can also be manufactured in large quantities in the nation speedily, DCGI stated in a statement. The drug comes in the kind of a powder in a sachet and is supposed to be dissolved in water and straight consumed by Covid-19 patients, DCGI added.