The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on June 1 issued directions on how to use the new drug called 2-DG for COVID patients.

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The drug can be given to patients under the care and prescription of doctors as it issued directions for its use. "Ideally, 2DG should be prescribed as early as possible by doctors for moderate to severe COVID patients for a maximum duration of up to 10 days", DRDO said in a statement. The first batch of DRDO-developed anti-COVID drug was launched last month to treat patients suffering from the deadly disease. The medicine comes in powder form and can be taken with water.

The DRDO said that the patients with uncontrolled diabetes, severe cardiac problem, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe hepatic and renal impairment have not been studied yet so they need to exercise caution. The anti-COVID drug should not be given to pregnant and lactating women and patients below 18 years, it said. The drug could be a game-changer in the battle against the pandemic as it helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces oxygen dependence.

Clinical trial results have shown that the drug helps in the faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in COVID patients. The medicine was found to be safe for COVID -19 patients in Phase 2 trials, conducted between May and October last year. It was found to be effective in cutting short the hospital stays of COVID patients and reducing their supplemental oxygen dependence.

During the first wave of the pandemic in April last year, 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 SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits viral growth.