There is a new drug now under trial named RLF-100, also registered as Aviptadil, at Houston Methodist Hospital, USA and in Israel, for Covid-19 patients. The drug is derived from a naturally produced peptide hormone Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide (VIP) in the intestine but mostly concentrated in our lungs. In 1970 an Egyptian Dr.Sami Said had co-discovered VIP with his colleague Viktor Mutt in Sweden. It was tried in Pulmonary Hypertension then. Later it was used to treat erectile dysfunction in Europe. Few months back when the Covid pandemic surfaced, Dr.Yves Sagot of Relief Therapeutics Holding company in Geneva, revisited the molecule with its role in treating Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ADRS). Coronavirus (COVID-19) death is primarily caused by ARDS, in which severe inflammation causes the lungs to fill with fluid and even mechanical ventilation is unable to maintain life. The syndrome is caused by a Cytokine Storm unleashed by viral particles. VIP is known to have potent anti-cytokine effects in numerous animal models and in phase 1 and phase 2 human studies. It is also stated that VIP prevents replication of the SARS –CoV-2 virus in the human lung cells and monocytes (immunity cells). US FDA has approved the drug for emergency use in Covid-19 patients and the outcomes so far are positive in critically ill patients. US-Israeli company NeuroRx has partnered with Swiss company Relief Therapeutics Holdings and developed the drug RLF-100 (Aviptadil) in US. The novel coronavirus has pushed scientific research to open up all options to fight the dreaded disease. This time it is a VIP.
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BhaskarChakravorti 