More patients with an inflammatory disease of the bowels responded to a drug used for autoimmune disorders than those taking a placebo, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced Monday.

A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson is hoping to gain Food and Drug Administration approval for a new formulation of one of its drugs.

Findings from a new study indicate that more than half of the patients with ulcerative colitis who received subcutaneous injections of a drug used to treat autoimmune disorders responded to the treatment.

The Food and Drug Administration has received reports of a rare and usually deadly cancer in patients using a class of biotech drugs to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, the agency said Thursday.