EDINBURG — DHR Health Institute for Research and Development has been approved to begin administering RLF-100 (Aviptadil) for respiratory failure in patients with COVID-19 at DHR Health. Aviptadil has been approved by the U.S. F o o d and Drug Administration (FDA) under an Expanded Access Protocol to be used for treating patients with critical COVID-19 infection who have respiratory failure. The drug is a synthetic form of human Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide and is shown to block binding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the cause of COVID-19) to human lung cells, and i n preventing synthesis and release of cytokines in ...