Dr Reddy's lines up multiple drugs for Covid treatment

Hyderabad: City-based drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) lined up a series of preventive and curative treatment options, including vaccines and drugs, in the fight against Covid-19. Some of the major products include Sputnik V – a two-dose vaccine, Sputnik Light – single-dose vaccine, remdesivir, Avigan (Favipiravir) and 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).

DRL is under different phases of conducting trials and production of these vaccines and drugs. According to its management, the trials of Sputnik V vaccine have demonstrated 91.6 per cent efficacy, consistent safety and immunogenicity results. In April, 2021 it received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the vaccine and the first dose of the vaccine, imported from Russia, was administered on Friday.

DRL also received EUA for 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as adjunct therapy for hospitalised moderate to severe Covid patients. "We developed it in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory. Higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion," said M V Ramana, Executive Vice President and Head of the Branded Formulations at DRL.

The company expects commercial shipments of 2-DG from the middle of June. It is working closely with six manufacturing partners in the country to fulfill regulatory requirements to ensure smooth and timely supply. "We are also working on Molnupiravir, Baricitinib and several other covid drugs for treatment ranging from mild to severe conditions," he said.

The company has launched remdesivir in India and ramped up its supplies to meet with the higher demand due to surge in Covid cases. "We are selling Avigan (Favipiravir) in India as well as few other countries. We are conducting phase-3 trials in North America for outpatient setting with mild to moderate symptoms," he explained.

DRL will work closely with stakeholders in the government and private sector in India to ensure the widest possible reach of the Sputnik V vaccine as part of the national inoculation effort. This is a reaffirmation of the company's commitment to explore every avenue in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in India, Ramana added.