Relief Therapeutics' chairman said that he was optimistic that its RLF-100 (aviptadil) drug will acquire approval for treating COVID-19 patients in a matter of months.

The Swiss group owns the rights to the drug in the United States and Europe.

Its US spouse NeuroRx is conducting multicentre clinical trials in patients that are severely ill due to the consequences of COVID-19, the respiratory disorder brought on by the new coronavirus.

"The active pharmaceutical ingredient of aviptadil has been utilized for a lot of years in different indications. From a security standpoint we are very optimistic," Raghuram Selvaraju told Swiss newspaper The Marketplace in an interview published late on Friday.

"From a performance standpoint we want more data. I'd say the probability in the moment stands at 60 to 70 percent which we're going to find the drug approved," he added.

Selvaraju said trial results could emerge within a"couple more months".

"When we get meaningful data, I would anticipate that the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) would act in an expedient and collaborative method. I do not expect that we would require ten to 12 months for approval," he added.

Relief Therapeutics states aviptadil, a synthetic vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, is the first COVID-19 therapeutic to block replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from human lung cells.

Anticipation of advancement has driven shares in the Geneva-based firm sharply higher this season. They closed on Friday in 0.58 Swiss francs after beginning the year in 0.0010 francs.