Patient description: The patient is a 15-year-old boy with asthma diagnosed a year ago. He presents with shortness of breath, chest tightening and cough. According to his mother, he didn't respond to the usual corticosteroid inhaler. He was admitted to the emergency department with diagnosis of severe asthma exacerbation. He is a candidate for general corticosteroid therapy. Spirometry revealed a forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) of 60% of the predicted. His past medical history is non-significant. His family history is significant for asthma in his mother and his uncle. He used to be treated with combination of inhaled corticosteroids and Zafirlukast.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 12.0-999.0,  Asthma Informed Consent and Study Compliance: Subjects must be able to give written informed consent prior to participation in the study, which will the ability to comply with the requirements and restrictions listed in the consent form Systemic Corticosteroids: Requirement for regular treatment with maintenance systemic corticosteroids in the 6 months prior to Visit 1 and using a stable oral corticosteroid dose for 4 weeks prior to Visit 1. Subjects must be taking 5.0 to 35 mg/day of prednisone or equivalent at Visit 1 and must agree to switch to study required prednisone/prednisolone as their oral corticosteroid and use it per protocol for the duration of the study Inhaled Corticosteroids: Requirement for regular treatment with high dose inhaled corticosteroid in the 6 months prior to Visit 1. For 18 years of age and older: inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose must be >=880 microgram (µg)/day fluticasone propionate (FP) (ex-actuator) or equivalent daily. For ICS/ long acting beta2 agonist (LABA) combination preparations, the highest approved maintenance dose in the local country will meet this ICS criterion. For ages 12 to 17: ICS dose must be >=440 μg/day FP (ex-actuator) or equivalent daily Controller Medication: Current treatment with an additional controller medication for at least 3 months OR documentation of having used and failed an additional controller medication for at least 3 successive months during the prior 12 months [e.g., LABA, leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), or theophylline] Eosinophilic Asthma: Prior documentation of eosinophilic asthma or high likelihood of eosinophilic asthma FEV1: Persistent airflow obstruction as indicated by a pre-bronchodilator FEV1 <80% predicted Asthma: Evidence of asthma indicated by airway reversibility, hyperresponsiveness or airway variability  Smoking history: Current smokers or former smokers with a smoking history of >=10 pack years Concurrent Respiratory Disease: Presence of a clinically important lung condition other than asthma Malignancy: A current malignancy or previous history of cancer in remission for less than 12 months prior screening Liver Disease: Unstable liver disease Cardiovascular: Subjects who have severe or clinically significant cardiovascular disease uncontrolled with standard treatment Other Concurrent Medical Conditions: Subjects who have known, pre-existing, clinically significant endocrine, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological, renal, gastrointestinal, hepatic, haematological or any other system abnormalities that are uncontrolled with standard treatment Eosinophilic Diseases: Subjects with other conditions that could lead to elevated eosinophils such as Hypereosiniophilic Syndromes, including Churg-Strauss Syndrome, or Eosinophilic Esophaghitis. Subjects with a known, pre-existing parasitic infestation within 6 months prior to Visit 1 are also to be excluded ECG: ECG assessment QTcF >=450 milliseconds (msec) or QTcF >= 480 msec for subjects with Bundle Branch Block Immunodeficiency: A known immunodeficiency (e.g. human immunodeficiency virus HIV), other than that explained by the use of corticosteroids taken as therapy for asthma