Aviptadil: All you need to know about the 1970 drug used for Covid-19 treatment

Team Udayavani, Aug 15, 2020, 1:19 PM IST

Doctors at a Hospital in US have used a new drug called RLF-100, also known as aviptadil, that has led to rapid recovery from respiratory failure in critically ill Covid-19 patients

The drug has been approved by the FDA for emergency use and Houston Methodist Hospital was the first to report the rapid recovery of patients on ventilators and those with severe medical conditions

However, doctors in Mumbai have began prescribing the drugs but it is still not available in Inida

Aviptadil

Aviptadil is a formulation of synthetic human Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP). Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP) was first discovered by the late Dr. Sami Said in 1970.

VIP is known to target the VPAC1 receptor of the ATII cell and to protect that cell against all manner of injuries, including smoke inhalation, exposure to stomach acid, and exposure to infectious agents.

It helps improve muscle activity and blood flow in gastrointestinal tract. VIP has anti-inflammatory and anti-cytokine activity properties.

NeuroRx and Relief Therapeutics have partnered to develop the drug.

According to the report, a 54-year-old man who contracted Covid-19 while being treated for rejection of a double lung transplant came off a ventilator within four days.

The drug appeared to have rapidly cleared pneumonitis findings on an X-ray, improved blood oxygen and a 50 per cent or greater average decrease in laboratory markers associated with Covid-19 inflammation