UPDATE 1-GSK to test experimental drug to treat pneumonia from COVID-19

(Adds background, mode of action, previous pacts)

By Ludwig Burger

May 7 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline will start trials
of an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug on patients
suffering from pneumonia related to COVID-19 at the end of the
month.

Having screened its drugs for potential in the fight against
the coronavirus, GSK found that otilimab - in which GSK acquired
rights from German biotech firm Morphosys in 2013 -
could possibly ease the devastating effect of the virus on the
lungs but not suppress it directly, a company spokesman said.

For the study, about 800 patients will receive either
otilimab or a placebo, according to website ClinicalTrials.gov.

Initial results are expected towards the end of 2020. If the
results show promise, GSK would consider making regulatory
filings next year, the GSK spokesman said.

Britain's largest drugmaker, like many peers, has been
screening its approved and experimental drugs for modes of
action that could be of potential therapeutic use in patients
who have contracted COVID-19.

Patients with severe symptoms are believed to suffer from an
overreaction of the immune system known as cytokine storm and
GSK aims to show that a drug designed to fight an autoimmune
disease can help.

Rival AstraZeneca is pursuing a similar approach,
trying its blood cancer drug Calquence on severely ill COVID-19
patients, seeking also to rein in an overactive immune system.

In the fight against the virus, GSK has so far brought to
bear its knowledge on adjuvants, which are efficacy boosters
used in many vaccines. Its development partners include Sanofi
and Chinese biotech companies Clover
Biopharmaceuticals and Xiamen Innovax.

In April GSK invested $250 million in Vir Biotechnology
under a collaboration agreement to develop potential
antibody treatments for COVID-19.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger
Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and David Goodman)