Pune: BDR Pharma announces deal with DRDO to make Covid-19 drug in India

While the DRDE in Gwalior had produced 2-DG, its clinical trials were carried out in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories by INMAS. After receiving positive responses in phase-II and phase-IIb trials, the DCGI permitted 2-DG phase-III trials in November 2020.

The phase-II trial, which lasted from December 2020 to March 2021, enrolled 220 patients. The medicine was discovered to speed up the recovery of Covid-19 patients in hospitals and lessen the need for supplementary oxygen in them.

In a statement issued on Monday, Dharmesh Shah, CMD, BDR Pharmaceuticals, said they had secured a licence from the DRDO. The product will be priced competitively and it will be available in powder form in a sachet that can be consumed orally after dissolving it in water, the statement added.

BDR has applied to the DCGI for restricted emergency use authorisation to manufacture 2-DG to treat Covid-19 patients in India. For the development of 2-DG, the DRDO has recently signed agreements with four major Indian generic medicine producers.