A Study of Golimumab in Participants With Active Ankylosing Spondylitis

This is a Phase 3, multicenter (when more than one hospital or medical school team work on a medical research study), randomized (study drug assigned by chance), double-blind (neither the researchers nor the participants know what treatment the participant is receiving), placebo-controlled (an inactive substance; a pretend treatment \[with no drug in it\] that is compared in a clinical trial with a drug to test if the drug has a real effect) study of golimumab compared with placebo in participants with active ankylosing spondylitis. The study comprises of 4 phases: Screening phase (up to 6 weeks), Double-blind placebo-controlled phase (Week 0 to Week 16), Active treatment phase (Week 16 to Week 52), and Safety follow-up phase (8 weeks from last study drug administration). Total duration of the study will be 60 weeks per participant. Eligible Participants will be randomly assigned to either Treatment group 1: Placebo or Treatment group 2: Golimumab. Participants randomized to Placebo group, will receive intravenous infusions of placebo at Weeks 0, 4 and 12. At Week 16, all participants receiving placebo will begin receiving intravenous infusions of golimumab (2 mg/kg) at Weeks 16, 20 and thereafter every 8 weeks up to Week 52. Participants randomized to Golimumab group, will receive intravenous infusions of golimumab 2 mg/kg at Weeks 0, 4 and thereafter every 8 weeks up to Week 52. At Week 16, participants randomized to golimumab group will receive a placebo infusion to maintain the blind. The efficacy will be assessed primarily by measuring percentage of participants who achieve a 20 percent improvement from baseline in the assessment in ankylosing spondylitis (ASAS) at Week 16. Participant's safety will be monitored throughout the study.