DRDO’s Anti-Covid Drug and Oxycare Units

Policharcha.com | Updated: May 20, 2021, 9:09 AM

Share on:

DRDO’s Anti-Covid Drug 2-DG and Oxycare Units

As the Government continues to grapple in bringing the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic to a control, it has looked toward many governmental agencies for aid, and DRDO has been a very effective one.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the last month has helped the fight in two primary ways; first being the anti-covid drug, which according to the Defence Minister is a “new ray of hope”, and second is the procurement of Oxycare units.

2-DG – DRDO’s Anti-Covid Drug

An anti-Covid-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday released the first batch of the indigenously developed anti-Covid-19 drug, 2-DG. It was also given to AIIMS and the Armed Forces Medical Services, and more will be distributed across hospitals.

Trials 

In April 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, the INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the help of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, and found that 2-DG was effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and was able to inhibit the viral growth. On the basis of these findings, the DCGI permitted the phase-II clinical trial of the 2-DG drug in May 2020.

The Phase-II of the trials were conducted from May 2020 to November 2020 on 110 Covid-19 patients, who saw significant improvement in their recovery. Phase II was conducted in two parts; Phase-II(a) was conducted across six, and Phase-II(b) (dose-ranging) was conducted across 10 hospitals. The results continued to prove the efficacy of the drug. Patients treated with the 2-DG medicine had a faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) followed across hospitals.

Based on the successful results, the DCGI further permitted the Phase-III clinical trials of the drug in November 2020. The Phase-III clinical trial was conducted on 220 patients between December 2020 and March 2021 at 27 COVID hospitals across the country. 

The data revealed that a significantly higher proportion of patients improved symptomatically and became free from supplemental oxygen dependence by Day-3 in comparison to SoC (42% vs 31%), indicating an early relief from Oxygen therapy/dependence when the drug was used.

After the completion of all three phases along with positive test results, the DCGI granted 2-DG medicine permission for Emergency Use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 Patients.

How it Works 

The drug is sold as a sachet in powder form, which is to be consumed orally by dissolving it in water. Once taken, 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. 

Since the DCGI has given permission for the use of the drug as an adjunct therapy, it will be used alongside primary treatment.

DRDO’s Anti-Covid Drug 2-DG and Oxycare Units

In the second wave of the pandemic, a lot more patients are requiring hospitalisation and oxygen dependency. This drug is, thus, expected to not only save lives by its mechanism, but also reduce hospital stays for patients which might help in freeing the flooded hospitals.

Being a generic molecule analogous to glucose, it can be produced and readily made available in plenty throughout the country.

Oxycare Units developed by DRDO

Rs 322.5 crores has been sanctioned from the PM Cares Fund for the procurement of 1,50,000 units of ‘Oxycare’ system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Oxycare is a SpO2 (oxygen saturation) based oxygen supply system that delivers oxygen to patients according to the sensed SpO2 level. It prevents the patient from going into a state of hypoxia (an absence of enough oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions.) which can be fatal. 

The Defence Bioengineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bengaluru of DRDO had developed this system for soldiers posted at extremely high altitudes. The system is indigenously developed for on-field use, and is robust to help Covid-19 patients as well.

The SpO2 system optimises the consumption of oxygen, and thus increases the endurance and portability of the oxygen cylinder. The threshold level can be set manually initially, and a display continuously monitors the SpO2 level. This reduces the workload and contact of the health workers by considerably reducing or eliminating the need for routine measurements and manual adjustments of oxygen flow.

An automatic unit also provides several audio warnings for various scenarios. The non-rebreather mask which is integrated into the system can foster the efficient use of oxygen by about 30%-40%. These Oxycare systems can be used at homes, quarantine centres, and Covid care centres.

The DRDO has already transferred the technology of the Oxycare units to several industries across the country which are supposed to produce it. Under the current sanction, the Government is supposed to produce 1,00,000 manual, and 50,000 automatic Oxycare systems along with non-rebreather masks.

With the help of the DRDO, the Government in the past few weeks has been able to take long strides in battling the coronavirus. Expedited implementation, and making the oral Anti-Covid drug and Oxycare system readily available to hospitals can go a long way is saving lives of millions.

-------------------------

This article is written by Supratik Mitra

Related Discussion

.
2 months ago
.
2 months ago
.
6 months ago
.
6 months ago

View More