DRDO to get 2% royalty from Dr Reddy's on sale of Covid drug 2-DG in India

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will get two per cent royalty from Dr Reddy's Laboratory (DRL) on the sale of anti-COVID drug 2-DG, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Bhatt said the DRDO developed the technology (for 2-DG) along with DRL, Hyderabad. The pricing is solely decided by DRL. The actual price fixed by Dr Reddy lab is Rs 990 per sachet, he said.

The DRDO works under the Defence Ministry. DRL is a private listed company.

"DRDO will get 2 per cent royalty on the sale of 2-DG in the Indian market as per Transfer of Technology agreement," Bhatt said.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe coronavirus patients in early May.

The first batch of this oral drug, developed by the DRDO was released on May 17 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and then Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

The Defence Ministry on May 8 had said that the clinical trials of 2-DG showed that it helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.

The drug comes in powder form in sachet and is taken orally by dissolving it in water.