MediciNova Receives Notice of Allowance for New Patent Covering MN-001 and MN-002 for the Treatment of NASH

MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market MNOV and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a pending patent application which covers MN-001 (tipelukast) and MN-002 (a major metabolite of MN-001) for the treatment of NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis). Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than December 2032. The allowed claims cover a method of treating NASH, a method of reducing liver inflammation in NASH, a method of reducing hepatic fibrosis in NASH, and a method of reducing damage to liver cells in NASH using MN-001 or MN-002. The allowed claims cover oral administration, including tablets and capsules, as well as liquid dosage forms. "We are very pleased that this new patent will be granted, and we will now have three different patents that cover MN-001 for the treatment of liver diseases," commented Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and CEO of MediciNova, Inc. About NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a condition in which there is fat in See full press release