MediciNova Initiates Clinical Trial of MN-166 in Opioid Abusers

MediciNova Nasdaq: MNOV) announced the initiation of enrollment of a Phase 2a clinical trial with MN-166 (ibudilast) in prescription opioid or heroin abusers. The trial will be conducted at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute and is funded by the National Institutes for Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. "We are excited to expand our investigation of MN-166 to include prescription opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin, which will increase the number of people who would qualify for this trial," said Sandra Comer, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Neurobiology with joint appointments at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute and primary investigator of the trial. "We have seen positive signals with MN-166 in our earlier Phase 1b work in heroin addiction and look forward to pursuing this unique therapeutic approach for opioid addiction, a very complex and difficult health condition that can affect anyone and often requires long-term treatment and care." The MN-166 Phase 2a trial signifies the next step in the development