Patient description: A 63-year-old man presents with cough and shortness of breath. His past medical history is notable for heavy smoking, spinal stenosis, diabetes, hypothyroidism and mild psoriasis. He also has a family history of early onset dementia. His symptoms began about a week prior to his admission, with productive cough, purulent sputum and difficulty breathing, requiring him to use his home oxygen for the past 24 hours. He denies fever. On examination he is cyanotic, tachypneic, with a barrel shaped chest and diffuse rales over his lungs. A chest x-ray is notable for hyperinflation with no consolidation.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 40.0-999.0,  Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive COPD diagnosis and severity: Participants with a clinical history of COPD (established by a physician) in accordance with the following definition by the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society, for at least 6 months prior to enrolment. Participants must have evidence of airflow obstruction, defined as post-bronchodilator FEV1 equal to or less than 80% of predicted normal value calculated using "Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey" (NHANES III) reference equation at Visit 1 and a FEV1 / FVC ratio <=70% at Screening (Visit 1). Note: Post-bronchodilator spirometry will be performed approximately 10-15 minutes after the participants has self-administered 4 inhalations (i.e., total 400/360 [microgram] mcg) of salbutamol/albuterol via a Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) (use of spacer will be optional). The study-provided central spirometry equipment will calculate the FEV1/FVC ratio and FEV1 percent predicted values Exacerbation History: A documented history (e.g., medical record verification) in the 12 months prior to Visit 1 of >=2 COPD exacerbations resulting in prescription for antibiotics and/or oral corticosteroids or hospitalisation or extended observation in a hospital emergency room or outpatient centre. Note: Prior use of antibiotics alone does not qualify as a moderate exacerbation unless the use was specifically for the treatment of worsening symptoms of COPD Existing COPD maintenance treatment: Participants must be receiving daily maintenance treatment for their COPD for at least 3 months prior to Screening. Notes: Participants receiving only "pro re nata" or as needed (PRN) COPD medications are not eligible for in the study. All participants will continue on their current Standard of Care (SoC) COPD medications throughout the entire duration of the study Tobacco use: Participants with a current or prior history of >=10 pack-years of cigarette smoking at Screening (Visit 1). Former smokers are defined as those who have stopped smoking for at least 6 months prior to Visit 1. One pack year =20 cigarettes smoked per day for 1 year or the equivalent. Number of pack years=(number of cigarettes per day/20) x number of years smoked Sex: Male or female participants aged >=40 years at Screening (Visit 1). A female participant is eligible to participate if she is of non-child bearing potential defined as pre-menopausal females with a documented tubal ligation or hysterectomy; or postmenopausal defined as 12 months of spontaneous amenorrhea [in questionable cases a blood sample with simultaneous follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) >40 milli-international unit/milliliter (MIU/mL) and estradiol <40 picogram/milliliter (pg/mL) (<140 [Picomoles per liter] pmol/L) is confirmatory] or if of child-bearing potential is using a highly effective method for avoidance of pregnancy from 30 days before the first dose, for the duration of dosing and until 2 weeks post last-dose Capable of giving written informed consent, which includes compliance with the requirements and restrictions listed in the consent form Corrected ECG QT interval (QTc)<450 milliseconds(msec) or QTc<480 msec for participants with bundle branch block. The QTc is the QT interval corrected for heart rate according to either Bazett's formula (QTcB), Fridericia's formula (QTcF), or another method, machine or manual over-read. For and withdrawal, ideally the same QT correction formula will be used for all participants. However, because this is not always possible, the same QT correction formula will be used for each individual participant to determine for and withdrawal from the study. The QTc will be based on single or averaged QTc values of triplicate ECGs obtained over a brief recording period  Eosinophils: >2.0% blood eosinophils at Screening (Visit 1) Concomitant medication: COPD Medication: Participants currently on chronic treatment with macrolides or Roflumilast; Long term oxygen therapy (LTOT) or nocturnal oxygen therapy required for greater than 12 hours a day. Oxygen PRN use (i.e. <=12 hours per day) is not exclusionary. Multidrug and toxin extrusion (MATE) transporter 1 (MATE1) inhibitors: cimetidine, pyrimethamine, trimethoprim (short course treatment with trimethoprim is allowed). Other medications: Chronic maintenance therapy with anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (anti-TNF), anti-Interleukin-1 (anti-IL1), phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitors, or any other immunosuppressive therapy (not including steroids) within 60 days prior to dosing. Any other investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half lives, whichever is longer prior to Screening Visit Other respiratory disorders: Participants with asthma (as primary diagnosis) lung cancer, bronchiectasis, active sarcoidosis, active lung fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary hypertension, active interstitial lung diseases or other active pulmonary diseases. Participants with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency as the underlying cause of COPD Participants with clinically significant sleep apnea who require use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device Participants who require a non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) device (Note: Use of non invasive ventilation (NIV) in hospital as part of the medical management of an acute exacerbation is permitted.) Lung resection: Participants who have undergone previous lung reduction surgery (e.g. lobectomy, pneumonectomy, or lung volume reduction) COPD stability: Less than 30 days prior to Visit 1 have elapsed from completion of a course of antibiotics or oral corticosteroids for a recent COPD exacerbation Evidence of pneumonia or a clinically significant abnormality not believed to be due to the presence of COPD on chest X-ray (posteroanterior with lateral) or computerised tomography (CT) scan (historic data up to 1 year may be used) Pulmonary rehabilitation program: Participation in the acute phase of a pulmonary rehabilitation program within 4 weeks prior to Visit 1. Participants who are in the maintenance phase of a pulmonary rehabilitation program are not excluded Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >2x Upper limits of normal (ULN) and bilirubin >1.5xULN (isolated bilirubin >1.5xULN is acceptable if bilirubin is fractionated and direct bilirubin <35%)