Geneva - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said Wednesday that 80 to 83 per cent of patients in a year-long clinical trial of its new drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis had remained relapse-free.

The company said the results were in line with its previous studies on the FTY720 oral compound. The data show the relapse rate at one year was 52 per cent lower for those in the trial of the new drug compared with patients using existing medications on the market.

FTY720 "may provide patients with an alternative choice to currently available medications for treating relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis," Jeffrey Cohen, the lead medical researcher in the new Phase III study was quoted as saying.

Novartis said it was working on the oral compound for the degenerative disease as an alternative to existing drugs which are generally injected.

Full results, Novartis said in a statement, would be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in the next few months. It was also planning to submit regulatory requests in the United States and Europe towards the end of the year.

Serious adverse reactions to the new oral medication occurred in less than 2 per cent of patients in the trial, Novartis said. But it was still looking into possible side effects.