Laurus Labs gets DRDO licence to make anti-COVID drug 2DG

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had on May 1 accorded emergency approval for use of 2DG on COVID-19 patients.

Drugmaker Laurus Labs has received licence from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to manufacture and market 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (2DG), an oral drug indicated as an adjunct therapy for hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Announcing this, the company said it has already applied for emergency use authorisation for the product with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had on May 1 accorded emergency approval for use of 2DG on COVID-19 patients.

Laurus Labs is among a clutch of companies that have been issued licence to manufacture and market 2-DG, sources said. DRDO had last month invited expression of interest, from pharma companies, offering transfer of technology of the process for manufacturing 2-DG.

Developed by DRDO lab INMAS (Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences), the product during clinical trial showed that the molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence. An official release, issued at the time of DCGI approval, said being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, 2-DG can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in association with INMAS became the first company to roll out 2-DG. The Hyderabad-based pharma major earlier this week had announced the commercial launch of 2-DG, with the maximum retail price fixed at ₹990 per sachet. The company had said it will be supplied at a subsidised rate to government institutions. Last week, Shilpa Medicare had also announced receipt of an in-principle approval from DRDO for manufacture and sale of 2DG.

Like Shilpa Medicare, Laurus Labs too did not specify the time frame by when it intends to launch 2DG and the price it will set for the product.

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