Mankind Pharma gets DRDO nod to manufacture, market COVID drug 2-DG

Drug firm Mankind Pharma on Thursday said it has received licence from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to manufacture and market oral 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), used for the treatment of COVID-19.

2-DG was developed by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior. The clinical trials were conducted by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of DRDO, in association with Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Mankind Pharma said in a statement.

The company will manufacture the product at its facilities in Visakhapatnam and Himachal Pradesh, it added.

The office of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on May 1 had permitted the emergency use of 2-DG as an adjunct treatment for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients, Mankind Pharma said.

The drug is found to help the hospitalised COVID-19 patients recover faster and is also known to reduce the supplemental oxygen dependency among the COVID-19 patients, it added.

"Our objective behind this agreement is to ensure maximum reach of this medication to the deserving Indian patients suffering from the deadly pandemic," the company said.