First batch of anti-Covid drug 2-DG reaches Lko

LUCKNOW: The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Covid Hospital here is likely to administer the DRDO-developed anti-Covid drug 2-DG, the first batch of which reached the state capital on Saturday.

Officials with Atal Bihari Vajpaye Covid hospital—the makeshift Covid care facility set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Awadh Shilp Gram here — confirmed the arrival of the first batch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).

DRDO’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) has developed the drug in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Initially, DRDO has dispatched around 250 doses to the makeshift hospital here. More doses would be sent depending on the demand. “As per the demand from DRDO hospitals, 2-DG drug has been dispatched to all DRDO-established hospitals across the country,” said Dr Narendra Kumar Arya, director, Directorate of Public Interface (DPI), DRDO. Currently, over 140 patients are admitted at the DRDO Covid hospital here. Officials with the DRDO Covid hospital said the drug will be administered when required. The 2-DG drug was released recently by defence minister Rajnath Singh and Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.