Cheat the Cheater - The new Anti-Covid drug by DRDO!

Why in news?

A new drug called 2-DG or 2-deoxy-D-Glucose has been recently approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It has been the top headline for quite some time now. Are you aware of how it works and what it actually is? Read on to find out.

Coronavirus, or any virus in general, cheats our cell machinery and releases certain enzymes or chemicals that render our body unable to distinguish between the viral cells and its cells. Not only this, a virus uses the host cells' energy to replicate itself and produce multiple copies, thus spreading the infection. The source of energy is something we commonly call sugar, chemically being D-glucose.

Working

The idea behind the drug was to replicate the structure of D-glucose with a slight modification so that the virus mistakenly intakes it as glucose. The drug can selectively accumulate in infected cells and cuts off the energy supply to the virus. Voila! The cheater itself has been cheated. The virus cannot multiply automatically, thus reducing the infection and the viral load gradually. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.

Formulation and significance

The 2-hydroxyl group in D-glucose has been replaced by hydrogen so that further glycolysis (the process of breakdown of glucose that gives the energy required for the virus to multiply) is inhibited.

The Bottom Line

The drug seems to be promising in terms of faster recovery and reducing the dependence on oxygen cylinders. It will be used to treat patients with moderate to severe symptoms of coronavirus disease. Also, being in powder form, it can be mixed with water and administered easily.

That's all for this article.

We hope that the reading was quite insightful for you. Wishing everyone good health during these hard times.