The COVID-19 drug 2-DG, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) should work against various strains of the virus, DRDO chairperson Dr G Satheesh Reddy said on Monday.
"The drug 2DG developed by us should work against the various strains of the COVID-19 virus," Reddy told ANI when asked if the drug would be effective against the new strains and other mutated variants of the COVId-19 virus.
He added that the organisation was hoping to ramp up production of the drug up to one lakh sachet per day by the first week of June.
"From the first week of June, we are hoping to ramp up the production of the drug as the process to develop it takes around one month. We are hoping to increase the number of sachets production to one lakh per day," Reddy said.
The first batch of the anti-COVID drug was released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday.
The drug has been developed by DRDO`s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) in collaboration with Dr Reddy`s Laboratories. It 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.
Earlier, the Chairperson had informed that the first batch of the anti-COVID drug would only be available only to AIIMS, Armed Forces Hospitals, DRDO hospitals and other places in need. It will be made available to other hospitals in June.
(With ANI inputs)
