Experimental drug of of Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc alleviates diarrhea and abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome, as two large late-stage trials showed, Newsmax Health reports.

Furiex said it would apply by mid-year for U.S. approval of the drug, eluxadoline, to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-d), a debilitating bowel disorder that affects about 28 million people in the United States and major European markets.

Eluxadoline was tested at two doses against a placebo over the course of 12 weeks to meet requirements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The success appeared to be driven by the percentage of patients reporting improvements in diarrhea, which ranged from 30 percent to 37 percent versus 22 percent and 20.9 percent for the placebo groups.

The drug appeared to be safe and well-tolerated in both studies, Furiex said. The most commonly reported side effects were constipation and nausea.

The company plans to present a far more detailed analysis of the late stage studies at an upcoming medical meeting.