RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The drug known as Aviptadil, prescribed for individuals with erectile dysfunction, may, according to some researchers, work in the fight against Covid-19.
Health officials in the United States have referred the drug for fast track approval after the first indications of success, according to British newspaper The Sun.
And although Aviptadil is still undergoing clinical trials, it has already been used in severe coronavirus cases.
Doctors at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas say Aviptadil has helped a man in critical condition, thereby enabling his “swift recovery”. The 54-year-old patient developed Covid-19 while undergoing treatment for rejection of a double lung transplant.
However, the ventilator was removed within four days after starting treatment with Aviptadil, also called RLF-100.
The doctors of the Texas hospital also state that another 15 critically ill patients recovered from respiratory failure three days after undergoing treatment.
RLF-100 is typically administered to patients suffering from impotence. In combination with Phentolamine, it is injected into men’s genitals.
Meanwhile, another research study conducted in Brazil concluded that Aviptadil blocks the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from multiplying in human lung cells and immune cells in the laboratory.
Jonathan Javitt, who develops the drug in NeuroRx pharmaceutical company, said: “No other antiviral agent has proven the same ability for a quick recovery from a viral infection and has demonstrated its ability to inhibit viral replication in the laboratory.”
Doctors are now pending formal results from five clinical trials involving five hospitals in the United States with 70 patients in less severe Covid-19 conditions. Some have been administered the drug and others have been given a placebo in order to understand if there is a difference in the results.
The test is expected to show whether the drug can prevent progression of the disease when taken at an early stage.