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| - Fact Check: False information about immediate procurement of anti-Covid drug 2-DG goes viral, Dr Reddy's clarifies
A message was recently circulating on social media claiming those in need of the 2-DG drug can request their hospital to place an order with Dr. Reddy'S Lab. The post also contains two e-mail IDs, purportedly of Dr. Reddy's Lab, and a list of personal details that the patients need to be provide while placing the order.
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India Today Fact Check
Dr. Reddy's has clarified that the commercial launch and supply of 2-DG to major government and private hospitals is expected to commence only in mid-June 2021. Citizens can contact Dr. Reddy's through 2DG@drreddys.com for all queries related to 2DG.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) announced on May 8 that it had approved indigenously developed an anti-Covid-19 drug called 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 patients. 2-DG has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), New Delhi, a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Hyderabad-based pharma company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL).
Amidst the debate over the efficacy of the drug, a message started circulating on social media claiming those in need of the 2-DG drug can request their hospital to place an order with Dr. Reddy'S Lab. The post also contains two e-mail IDs, purportedly of Dr. Reddy's Lab, and a list of personal details that the patients need to be provide while placing the order.
One such post circulating on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KDSadhwani/posts/326982229000052 ) can be seen below.
The archived versions of the post can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claim along with the post in circulation is false. In a Tweet, Dr. Reddy's has clarified that 2-DG has not been commercially launched in the market yet and the e-mail ID details given in the post are wrong. The anti-Covid drug is expected to commence only in mid-June.
AFWA probe
We found multiple social media users complaining about the unavailability of 2-DG in the market while doctors are prescribing the drug for Covid-19 patients. We also found some Twitter users suggesting the e-mail IDs in the name of two doctors, purportedly from Dr. Reddy's, (deepaksapra@drreddys.com and mallikarjunard@drreddys.com ) given in the viral post in circulation as a contact option for 2-DG, while others saying they couldn't get any response from Dr. Reddy's despite sending emails to those IDs.
In response to multiple tweets, the official Twitter handle of Dr. Reddy's tweeted that the information shared in the viral post is false and queries related to 2-DG can be addressed to the e-mail ID: 2DG@drreddys.com.
In another tweet, Dr. Reddy's has said the price per sachet of the drug has also been not announced yet.
Important information regarding #2DG. For all queries related to 2DG, please write to 2DG@drreddys.com.#DrReddys pic.twitter.com/FgGqrnfuEn — Dr. Reddy's (@drreddys) May 19, 2021
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had released the first batch of 2DG drugs on May 17. As of May 17, DRDO released 10,000 sachets of the anti-Covid drug in various hospitals across the country.
What is anti-Covid drug 2-DG?
2-deoxy-D-glucose or 2-DG is an antiviral drug that can be administered only upon prescription to hospitalised moderate to severe Covid-19 patients as adjunct therapy along with the existing standard of treatment.
The drug comes in powder form in a sachet and is taken orally by dissolving it in water. According to DRDO, it accumulates in the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.
However, according to multiple reports, the phase-3 trials for the drug which started in January 2021 may continue till August.
While 2-DG has been studied in clinical trials for the treatment of various cancers globally, trials to use it as a Covid-19 drug are done only in India.
It is, however, clear that the message in circulation is false and 2-DG will be commercially available only by June.
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