Rhu-pGSN for Severe Covid-19 Pneumonia

Efficacy and safety of IV rhu-pGSN on top of SOC will be evaluated initially in 60 participants representative of the drug target population: high-risk subjects with acute severe pneumonia due to COVID-19. The rhu-pGSN dose will be based on actual body weight given at 12 mg/kg. Three doses will be given at 0, 12 and 24 hours intervals promptly after enrollment by IV infusion through a 0.2 µm filter. Participants will be randomized 1:1 rhu-pGSN or placebo. Interim safety analyses will be conducted after enrollment of 12, 24, 36, and 48 patients. The primary efficacy outcome will be the proportion of patients surviving on Day 14 without mechanical ventilation, vasopressors or dialysis. Secondary efficacy outcomes will include: daily change in 9-point WHO severity score through at least Day 14; all-cause mortality at Days 28 and 90; time to death (Kaplan-Meier survival analysis); proportion of subjects alive on Days 7, 28, 60, and 90 without: ongoing use of vasopressors, ongoing intubation/mechanical ventilation, ongoing residence in an intensive care unit (ICU), new ongoing need for dialysis/renal replacement therapy; proportion of subjects discharged to home or immediate prior residence by Day 28; days on the ventilator; length of stay in hospital and in ICU and re-admission to an acute-care hospital up to Day 90. Safety of administration of rhu-pGSN at the indicated dosage will also be evaluated. Baseline and sequential levels of pGSN and inflammatory biomarkers will be measured. On days 1, 28, and 90, immunogenicity due to the formation of anti-pGSN antibodies will be assessed.