Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said Friday that data from a phase 3 study of Tremfya subcutaneous induction therapy in adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis showed "statistically significant" and "clinically meaningful" improvements compared to a placebo.

The company said the results for the drug, also called guselkumab, were consistent with the intravenous induction regimen already approved last year by the US Food and Drug Administration.

At week 12, 26.6% of patients in the study treated with a 400 milligram dose showed clinical remission compared with 6.5% for the placebo while 65.6% showed a clinical response compared with 34.5% for the placebo, the company said.