Telangana begins to buy 2-DG in bulk

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is trying to procure the newly launched 2DG anti-Covid oral drug on priority basis.

Following its launch in New Delhi by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the state government has asked the officials to initiate steps to place bulk order from the drug manufacturers - DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and Reddy's Labs. The drug is likely to be made available from June.

Sources said the state Medical and Health Department has begun consultations with the drug development agencies to get adequate supplies soon. Health officials said the government wanted to make available the anti-Covid medicine in hospitals mainly Gandhi Hospital, TIMS and some other Covid treatment centres in the state first.

Clinical tests have already proved that the drug would save the patients suffering from lower oxygen levels. If the drug is made available at Covid intensive care units, the patients waiting for oxygen beds will get instant relief. "The Covid hospitals have already compiled the data of patients who were on oxygen support.

The state government has already requested the drug development agencies to supply the drug to the private corporate hospitals only after getting approval from the state Drug Control Administration, the official authority to check the black marketing of drugs.

The Health department officials will hold a meeting with the official agency on the supply of the drug to government and private hospitals during the last week of May.

The big challenge before the government is to check any black-marketing and exploitation of patients by drug suppliers at local level ," officials said.