Claimed effect · VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide)

Does VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) help with pulmonary hypertension?

C
Grade C — weak human evidenceSmall studies · effect size: small
Short answerWeak human evidence. Small studies: enough to be interesting, not enough to count on. Where an effect is seen it is a small effect. Inhaled VIP lowered pulmonary pressures acutely in small open studies; a development programme did not reach approval.

What the studies show

Inhaled VIP lowered pulmonary pressures acutely in small open studies; a development programme did not reach approval.

A few small or poorly-controlled human studies. Enough to be interesting; not enough to count on. Most of what gets called “clinically proven” online lives here.

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In context

Vasoactive intestinal peptide is a natural hormone that relaxes smooth muscle and blood vessels and dampens inflammation, made throughout the gut, lungs and nervous system. As the drug aviptadil it is licensed in the UK and some other countries — combined with phentolamine as an injection into the penis — for erectile dysfunction. Its pandemic moment came as an intravenous treatment for COVID-19 respiratory failure: the NIH-run TESICO trial of 461 patients was stopped for futility, with no improvement in outcomes or survival. The nasal-spray use promoted for 'chronic inflammatory response syndrome' from mould exposure has never been tested in a controlled trial.

VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) is licensed narrowly (ed, some countries); other uses unapproved. Legal status differs by country — see the regulation section or the jurisdiction pages.

Questions

Is VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) proven to help with pulmonary hypertension?
No. The human evidence is weak (Small studies); LYO grades it C.
What studies are behind the grade?
Inhaled VIP lowered pulmonary pressures acutely in small open studies; a development programme did not reach approval.
Is VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) approved for this?
VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) is an approved medicine (Licensed narrowly (ED, some countries); other uses unapproved); whether this particular outcome is a licensed indication is stated on the compound page's regulation section.

Other outcomes for VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide)

Written and maintained by LYO Research — how pages are written and checked. Reviewed 10 September 2026. Grades count human evidence only; see how LYO grades. Not medical advice. Correct this page →