What it is claimed to help
These are the uses attached to Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide in research, clinical practice, or marketing. Listing a claim is not endorsing it — tap any of them to see every other compound carrying the same claim.
What the human evidence actually is
Randomised controlled human trials exist. Not necessarily approved, and not necessarily positive.
Mixed and heavily disputed. Intravenous aviptadil was studied for COVID-19 respiratory failure; the NIH ACTIV-3b trial did not demonstrate benefit on its primary endpoint, though the sponsor contested the analysis. Intranasal VIP for chronic inflammatory response syndrome rests on case series from a single clinical tradition, not randomised trials.
How it is supposed to work
Binds VPAC1/VPAC2 receptors; vasodilatory, bronchodilatory and broadly anti-inflammatory, with a very short circulating half-life.
Safety
Hypotension, flushing and diarrhoea with systemic dosing — direct consequences of vasodilation.
Storage and handling
Lyophilised peptide is generally stored at 2–8 °C, or below −20 °C for long-term storage. Reconstituted in bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol) a solution is typically treated as usable for about 28 days refrigerated, versus roughly 24 hours for plain sterile water, which has no preservative. Add the water slowly down the vial wall and swirl — never shake, which shears peptide chains and foams the solution.
Whatever number a protocol or a prescriber gave you, converting it into syringe units is where a misplaced decimal becomes a tenfold error. Our calculators do that conversion and nothing else — they never invent a dose.
Open the calculatorsSources
- ACTIV-3b/TESICO trial results, JAMA Internal Medicine 2023
- FDA 503A interim bulks list, Category 1 entry for VIP
Verified against primary sources on 27 August 2026. Regulatory status in this field changes several times a year. See How We Rate Evidence.