India’s 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, has been found to be effective against all variants of Covid-19, a new study has revealed. The 2-DG drug also has the potential to reduce the multiplicity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and alleviate cells from infection-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) and cell death, the preliminary study added.
On May 17, the 2-DG drug was released by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Dr Harsh Vardhan. While releasing its first batch, the Centre claimed that it has the potential to reduce a patient’s average recovery time by two and a half days and oxygen demand by up to 40%.
“Glycolytic inhibitor 2-Deoxy-D-glucose attenuates SARS-CoV-2 multiplication in host cells and weakens the infective potential of progeny virions,” the study revealed.