2 Deoxy D Glucose Treatment: All you need to know
DRDO's anti-COVID drug 2-DG will reduce recovery time, oxygen dependency, says Union Health Minister
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) May 17, 2021
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What is 2-Deoxy D Glucose Medicine?
2-Deoxy-D-Glucose(2DG) is a drug proven to have anti-covid properties. 2DG is not a newly invented drug, but it has been in the news for several days due to its analog modification made by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists. 2DG is a proven anti-cancer drug but it has shown significant results against COVID-19. ’The Biotech People’ is here to explain its nook and corner.
Glimpses of the story.
Defence Minister of India Shri. Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan released the primary batch of anti-COVID drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) on May 17, 2021. It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) together with the Institute of Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories(DRL) in Hyderabad.
‘The Biotech People’ wishes to clarify the common doubts that are sure to arise in anyone's mind and if you are a life sciences student you should keep reading.
Commonly asked questions:
What is 2DG medicine?
Is the 2DG medicine manufactured by DRDO Indian better than other corona vaccines like Covaxin, Covisheild, and Sputnik?
Why has 2DG medicine been considered the game-changer amidst the COVID 19 menace?
Why is 2DG trending on Twitter?
What is the mechanism of 2DG?
What is the selective accumulation mechanism of 2DG medicine?
....etc etc.
Since you've got the answer to the 1st question, we'll move to the rest. This story will give you the answer.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) has approved the oral drug for emergency use as an add-on supplement therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients. This drug is said to reduce the use of medical oxygen in this difficult chapter of our lives. According to DRDO chairman Dr. G Satheesh Reddy's words, the drug has been tested in the labs of both the DRDO’s and Dr. Reddy's Labs (DRL) and trials conducted across 30 hospitals and on a colossal (large) number of patients.
What is 2DG's mechanism of action?
The drug comes in powder form packed in sachets, which can be taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates within the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by ceasing viral synthesis and energy production. It is said to have a selective accumulation mechanism that accumulates in virally infected cells.
Clinical trial results have shown that this drug helps in the faster recovery of hospitalized patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid patients sooner than usual.
INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the assistance of the Centre for Cellular and Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad in the early days of the pandemic. They together found that this molecule works effectively against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits viral growth
In support of these results the Drugs Controller & Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) permitted Phase-II clinical tests of 2- DG in Covid-19 patients in May 2020.
The DRDO, with its industry partner DRL, Hyderabad, started the clinical trials to check the security and efficacy of the drug in Covid-19 patients.
In Phase-II trials conducted during May-October 2020, which included dose-ranging, the drug was found to be safe in Covid patients and showed significant improvement in their recovery, the ministry statement said, Phase-II was conducted in six hospitals, and Phase IIb (dose-ranging) clinical test was conducted at 11 hospitals across the country.
When talking about the efficacy, the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints. A significantly favorable trend was noticed, a promising 2.5 days difference was observed.
What is the 'Standard of care?
SoC can also be called ‘best practices, a set of guidelines established by the medical fraternity.
For example, if the SoC says a patient must be monitored for certain days, this drug has proven to shorten the specified average no. of days. In other words, the drug is said to reduce the time taken for recovery.
Why has 2DG medicine been considered the game-changer amidst the COVID 19 menace?
In November 2020, Phase-3 trials were approved and went on from December to April. On May 1, the drug was approved for emergency use. Dr. Reddy’s Labs is engaged in its production.
Based on successful results, DCGI further permitted the Phase-III clinical trials in November 2020. The Phase-III clinical tests were conducted on 220 patients between December 2020 to March 2021 at 27 Covid hospitals in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The detailed data of the phase-III clinical test was presented to DCGI. Due to 2DG a higher proportion of patients improved symptomatically and have become free from supplemental oxygen dependence (42% vs 31%) by Day-3 as compared to SoC( Specified time), indicating an early relief from Oxygen therapy/dependence.
NOTE: This page is subject to modification in the future.
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