Dr Reddy's announces commercial launch of COVID-19 drug 2-DG

NEW DELHI: Drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Monday announced the commercial launch of COVID-19 treatment drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), at a maximum retail price of Rs 990 per sachet.

The company will supply the drug to major government as well as private hospitals across India, Dr Reddy's said in a regulatory filing.

"In the initial weeks, the company will make the drug available in hospitals across metros and Tier 1 cities, and subsequently expand THE coverage to the rest of India," it added.

The drug manufactured by the company has a purity of 99.5 per cent and is being sold commercially under the brand name 2DG.

The maximum retail price (MRP) of each sachet has been fixed at Rs 990, with a subsidised rate offered to government institutions, Dr Reddy's said.

"2-DG is yet another addition to our COVID-19 portfolio that already covers the full spectrum of mild to moderate and severe conditions and includes a vaccine. We are extremely pleased to have partnered with DRDO in our collective fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," Dr Reddy's Chairman Satish Reddy said.

The drug can be administered only upon prescription and under the supervision of a qualified physician to hospitalised moderate to severe COVID-19 patients as an adjunct therapy to the existing standard of care, Dr Reddy's said.

Emergency use approval for the anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug was granted on May 1, 2021, it added.

2-DG was developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy's, the filing said.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories were trading at Rs 5,400 per scrip on BSE, up 1.67 per cent from its previous close.