Camostat is an orally bioavailable trypsin-like protease inhibitor known to inhibit trypsin and various inflammatory proteases including plasmin, kallikrein and thrombin. Camostat has been shown to inhibit the production of TNF-α and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 by monocytes and to disrupt proliferation of pancreatic stellate cells in a rat model of pancreatic fibrosis. Protease regulation via camostat has also been reported to reversibly inhibit epithelial sodium channel function in human airway epithelial cell models. It is used in the treatment of some forms of cancer and is also effective against some viral infections (such as SARS, MERS or influenza), as well as inhibiting fibrosis in liver or kidney disease or pancreatitis. It suppresses pancreatitis-induced pain in rats following oral administration and is used to treat pancreatitis and reflux esophagitis after gastrectomy. It is an inhibitor of the enzyme transmembrane serine protease TMPRSS2 and partially blocks infection by SARS-CoV and human coronavirus NL63 in HeLa cells and entry of SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) into lung cells in vitro.