India News | 40 Pharma Firms Showed Interested to Produce 2-DG Drug: ASG
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Madras High Court was told on Friday that 40 pharmaceutical firms had shown interest in manufacturing 2-deoxy-D-Glucose (2-DG) an adjunct drug used in COVID-19 treatment.
Chennai, June 25 (PTI) The Madras High Court was told on Friday that 40 pharmaceutical firms had shown interest in manufacturing 2-deoxy-D-Glucose (2-DG) an adjunct drug used in COVID-19 treatment.
The anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of 2-DG has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a leading laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories.
Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan made the submission before the second bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and T V Tamilselvi on a PIL petition from D Saravanan of Chennai.
The petitioner complained that DRDO had given licence to Dr Reddys Laboratories in Hyderabad alone for producing the oral powder at a cost of Rs 990 per sachet of 2.34 grams and not to any other pharma company in the country.
The ASG said DRDO had invited Expression of Interest to produce the drug and so far 40 pharmaceutical companies had shown interest.
The DRDO was highly capable of ensuring that the drug is manufactured in large quantities within the shortest possible time.
It had fixed June 17 as the last date for submitting an Expression of Interest to manufacture the drug and 40 companies had responded.
After telling the ASG to circulate all documents and recording his submissions, the bench reserved its verdict.
The court also took note of a submission by a litigant that the DRDO's drug was very effective and that a woman COVID-19 patient, with comorbidities had a "magical cure" after being administered with 30 sachets of the drug.
He said the doctor who treated the patient was also ready to vouch for its efficacy and the bench recorded its appreciation to the doctor concerned.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)