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COVID-19 | Dr Reddy's to launch 2-DG medication in June

"We have started the production of this product, we expect this product available from June," said Deepak Sapra, Senior Vice President and Head of Pharamceutical Service and Active Ingredients (PSAI), DRL.

May 15, 2021 / 12:39 IST
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Drug maker Dr Reddy's on May 14 said the anti-COVID-19 medication 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) will be available from June.

The drug 2-DG, which comes in powdered form in a sachet, needs to be taken twice a day orally by dissolving in water.

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The drug is used as an adjunct therapy. Adjunctive therapy is administered along with primary treatment.

The clinical trials showed that the drug helps in relatively faster recovery of those who have been hospitalised and also reduces need for supplemental oxygen compared to those who are on standard of care.

COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
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