MedPath

Phase II study to evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose in COVID -19 patients

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Coronavirus as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere,
Registration Number
CTRI/2020/06/025664
Lead Sponsor
Dr Reddys Laboratories Limited
Brief Summary

COVID-19 is currently a major global public health crisis and in the absence of an effective vaccine and ‘herd’ immunity, there are no known interventions for effectively dealing with this pandemic (other than broad public-health measures like physical distancing and containment). At an individual COVID-19 patient level, there is a lack of proven specific treatment options that improve symptoms, influence disease severity progression and clinical outcomes or aid the treating physician in better patient management. Different medicines and medicinal systems are being explored to find remedial measures for this new infection. Antiviral drugs, and other antimicrobial agents are being evaluated and being utilized off-label in treating patients, largely those with more severe COVID-19. However, no breakthrough has been achieved to date either in curtailing the pandemic or improving patient outcomes.

2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), an inhibitor of glucose transport and glycolysis, is known to inhibit the growth of neoplastic cells in vitro and in vivo. While 2-DG is not an approved drug, it has been studied in 218 clinical trials for the treatment of various cancers globally. 2-DG has not been evaluated in the acute treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19. However, based on mechanistic and in-vitro-evidence (see below) as well efficacy seen in the interventional clinical studies in malignancies and genital herpes, the Sponsors believe that 2-DG could be developed for the specific treatment of patients with COVID-19 disease in conjunction with other anti-viral therapies.

2-DG was chosen based on its in vitro inhibition potential (EC50 = 1.0 mM, EC90 = 3.7 mM; supernatant) towards SARS-CoV-2 from the studies conducted by Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. The Sponsor of this study, INMAS, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, was responsible for genesis of this hypothesis and testing of efficacy of 2-DG against SARS-CoV2. These effective concentrations are within the range that can be achieved in human plasma upon oral dosing of 63 mg/kg/day.

Moreover, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with the radiotracer, 18FDG (Fludeoxyglucose, an analog of 2-DG) has shown accumulation of the radiolabel in the inflamed lungs of COVID-19 patients, due to high metabolic activity induced by the coronavirus infection. Dr Reddy’s believes that this phenomenon could potentially result in a preferential and disproportionately high accumulation of 2-DG in inflamed lung tissue of COVID-19 patients thereby leading to starvation in the lung cells, which in turn would lead to inhibition of viral replication.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
Completed
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
40
Inclusion Criteria
  • Male, female and transgender patients aged ≥ 18 years and ≤ 65 years 2.
  • Patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT-PCR on a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab Note: A re-treated/ relapsed patient may be enrolled if he/she meets all of the following criteria: a.
  • Documented re-conversion on nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab from negative to positive for SARS-CoV-2 OR nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab continues to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 after previous treatment AND b.
  • Clinical symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, fatigue, body ache, headache, diarrhea, nasal congestion) have either re-appeared after previous treatment OR continued to be present without improvement OR are aggravated AND c.
  • Patient meet the below-mentioned criterion (# 3) for ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ COVID-19 disease severity 3.
  • Patients clinically assigned as ‘moderate’ (Pneumonia with no signs of severe disease, respiratory rate 15 to 30/minute, SpO2 90%-94%) or ‘severe’ (Severe Pneumonia with respiratory rate ≥30/minute and/or SpO2 < 90% in room air) but not critically ill (acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS], multi organ failure or septic shock) Note: The severity is as defined by the Guidance document on appropriate management of suspect/confirmed cases of COVID-19 published by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on 07 Apr 2020.
  • Females should have a negative serum pregnancy test at baseline; female patients of child bearing potential should either be abstinent or comply with one or more contraception methods (with low user dependency and failure rate of <1%) for the entire duration of the treatment period and until 90 days after receiving the last dose of study treatment 5.
  • Able and willing to provide informed consent 6.
  • Able to understand the trial requirements and comply with trial medications and assessments in the opinion of the Investigator 7.
  • Agrees not to participate in other clinical studies within 30 days after the last administration of the study treatment.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Critically ill patients, defined as those who are candidates for endotracheal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation and those with ARDS, septic shock or multi-organ failure at baseline 2.
  • Patients with previous history of hypersensitivity or a contra-indication to the IMP 2-deoxy-D-glucose or the imaging marker Fludeoxyglucose (FDG) 3.
  • Patients with history of one or more known comorbidities at baseline: a.
  • Cardiac Failure b.
  • Prior or concurrent ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD): angina pectoris, history of myocardial infarction or documented silent ischemia or coronary artery vasospasm, including Prinzmetal’s angina c.
  • Cardiac conduction delay (QTc > 500 msec) or taking any prescription medications known to prolong QT interval d.
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome or arrhythmias associated with other cardiac accessory conduction pathway disorders e.
  • Diabetes Mellitus or any condition predisposing to hypoglycaemia f.
  • Moderate or Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) g.
  • Asthma or Interstitial Lung Disease h.
  • Malignancy i.
  • Other severe underlying diseases (e.g., active bleeding, blood dyscrasias, severe malnutrition) j.
  • Presence of any contra-indication to the chosen Standard of Care treatment 4.
  • Patients who are receiving drugs known to prolong the QT interval of heart including hydroxychloroquine or azithromycin OR are expected to require treatment with the same during the treatment period in the study (as of baseline assessment).
  • Received biological therapy (especially, experimental ACE-2 decoy or decoy receptor/monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6, interferon alpha) or convalescent plasma (for COVID-19 treatment) in the 90 days (prior to baseline visit).
  • Any other therapy which may confound the interpretation of efficacy outcomes or increase safety risks to patients.
  • This includes patients receiving other investigational therapies for COVID-19.
  • Inability to take oral medication.
  • Patients with malabsorption or gastrointestinal abnormalities which may affect drug absorption 9.
  • Body Weight < 45 kg or >130 kg 10.
  • Female patients who are pregnant or lactating 11.
  • Methotrexate, Cyclosporine, etc.) 12.
  • Patients who are contemplating surgery/ female patients contemplating a pregnancy within 90 days after scheduled end of study treatment 13.
  • Patients who are not suitable to participate in the study based on the Investigator’s judgeme.

Study & Design

Study Type
Interventional
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Time to ‘Clinical improvementDay 3,7,10,14 and 28 (until patient reaches score of 4 or lower on 10 point ordinal scale for clinical status or discharge, whichever is earlier).
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Mean/ median time (no. of days) from start of study treatment to clinical status score improvement by 1 and by 2 (from baseline) on the 10-point ordinal scale used in the SOLIDARITY trial by WHODay 1 to Day 28
Mean change from baseline in patient’s clinical status on a 10-point ordinal scale (SOLIDARITY trial)Days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 (or discharge, if discharge happens before)
Percentage of patients who achieve the endpoint of Clinical improvementDay 14 and by Day 28
Percentage of patients showing negative conversion (of detectable SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA) on nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabDay 10 and Day 28
Change from baseline in mean viral load (determined by rRT-PCR on nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab)Days 3, 7, 10, 14 and 28
Mean/Median time (no. of days) to negative conversion (of detectable SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA) on nasopharyngeal swab from day of first treatment intakeDay 1 to Day 28
Mean/median time (no. of days) from start of study treatment to discharge from the ‘isolation ward’ of the COVID management facility.Day 1 to Day 28
Changes of parameters at each assessment during the study/follow-up period, compared to baseline for:o Vital signs: body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation.
Mean change from baseline in NEWS-2 scoreDays 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 (or discharge, if discharge happens before)
Percentage of patients requiring, until Day 28 of treatment:a. Management in intensive care unit (ICU)
Mean/median time (no. of days) toa. Management in intensive care unit
Mean/ median time (no. of days) the patient is:a. Managed in intensive care unit
Mean/ Median Time to achieve symptom improvement of at least 30% in the COVID-19 symptoms sum score from baselineDay 14
Percentage of patients dying due to COVID-19 complicationDay 1 to Day 28
Number (and percentage) of patients reporting treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) (by MedDRA system organ class and preferred term)Days 3, 7, 10, 14 and 28

Trial Locations

Locations (12)

Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital

🇮🇳

Delhi, DELHI, India

BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences

🇮🇳

Bangalore, KARNATAKA, India

Chengalpet Government Medical College & Hospital

🇮🇳

Kancheepuram, TAMIL NADU, India

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College

🇮🇳

Nagar, UTTAR PRADESH, India

Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur

🇮🇳

Nagpur, MAHARASHTRA, India

Govt Medical College and Hospital Aurangabad

🇮🇳

Aurangabad, MAHARASHTRA, India

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals

🇮🇳

East, DELHI, India

Kasturba Hospital of Infectious Diseases

🇮🇳

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA, India

King George Hospital

🇮🇳

Visakhapatnam, ANDHRA PRADESH, India

King George Medical University (Erstwhile Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University)

🇮🇳

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH, India

Scroll for more (2 remaining)
Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital
🇮🇳Delhi, DELHI, India
Dr Akshay Budhraja
Principal investigator
9893322007
drakshay.budhraja@aakashhealthcare.com

MedPath

Empowering clinical research with data-driven insights and AI-powered tools.

© 2025 MedPath, Inc. All rights reserved.