Human Intravenous Interferon Beta-Ia Safety and Preliminary Efficacy in Hospitalized Subjects With COVID-19

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥18 years 2. Positive SARS-CoV-2 test by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or other diagnostic method within the past 7 days 3. Admission to hospital with respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 requiring hospital care and oxygen supplementation (≤ 8L/min) 4. Respiratory symptom onset no more than 7 days prior to hospital arrival 5. Informed consent from the subject or the subject's personal legal representative or a professional legal representative must be available Exclusion Criteria: 1. Unable to screen, randomize and administer study drug within 48 hours from arrival to hospital 2. Systemic corticosteroid, baricitinib or tofacitinib (or other JAK-STAT signalling pathway inhibitors) therapy within 7 days prior to arrival to hospital or planned for the next days 3. Known hypersensitivity or contraindication to natural or recombinant IFN-beta-1a or its excipients, or to dexamethasone or its excipients 4. Currently receiving IFN-beta-1a therapy 5. Home assisted ventilation (via tracheotomy or non-invasive) except for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) / Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP) used only for sleep-disordered breathing 6. Participation in another concurrent interventional pharmacotherapy trial during the study period 7. Decision to withhold life-sustaining treatment; patient not committed to full support (except DNR after cardiac arrest only) 8. Woman known to be pregnant, lactating or with a positive pregnancy test (urine or serum test) 9. Subject is not expected to survive for 24 hours 10. Subject has liver failure (Child-Pugh grade C) 11. Any clinical condition that in the opinion of the attending clinician or Investigator would present a risk for the subject to participate in the study