A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Sirukumab in Confirmed Severe or Critical Confirmed Coronavirus Disease (COVID)-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) betacoronavirus. Symptoms of COVID-19 infection may appear from 2 to 14 days following exposure, with the spectrum of illnesses ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness or death. The identification of SARS-CoV-2 follows the emergence of 2 other novel betacoronaviruses: SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Current management of COVID-19 is supportive, and respiratory failure from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the leading cause of mortality. While an understanding of the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of COVID-19 is still evolving during the ongoing pandemic, the current knowledge of the disease burden highlights the urgent medical need to develop a treatment. Sirukumab (also known as CNTO136) is a human anti-interleukin (IL)-6 immunoglobulin G1 kappa (IgG1k) monoclonal antibody (mAb). Sirukumab binds with high affinity and specificity to human IL-6 and as a result inhibits IL-6-mediated signaling and the biological effects of IL-6. The study will include a Screening Phase (up to 1 Day), a Treatment Phase (Day 1 to Day 28) and a Follow-up Phase (post Day 28, follow-up phone calls on Week 8, Week 12 and Week 16). Safety evaluations will include monitoring of adverse events and serious adverse events, physical examinations, vital sign measurements, electrocardiograms, clinical laboratory tests, pregnancy testing, and checking of vital status. The entire study duration for each participant will be 16 weeks.