The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has given Mankind Pharma the license to manufacture and market the oral 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) for the treatment of COVID-19, the pharmaceutical company said on 8 July.

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Mankind Pharma will absorb the technology and manufacture the product at its manufacturing facilities located at Andhra Pradesh's Vizag and Himachal Pradesh. 2-DG has been touted as a game-changer in the battle against pandemic as it helps in the faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces oxygen dependence in COVID-19 patients. In May, the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) approved 2-DG -- developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) -- for emergency use in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.

"Our objective behind this agreement is to ensure maximum reach of this medication to the deserving Indian patients suffering from the deadly pandemic. It is highly important that the Indian patients get such medicines easily and there is no shortage of such lifesaving drugs in the country. With this cause, we have partnered with DRDO to ramp up the manufacturing facilities and distribute the drug widely across India," Mankind Pharma said in a statement.

Being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country. The drug comes in powder form in a 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. Moreover, in clinical trials the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints.