MediciNova to Initiate Clinical Trial of MN-001 (tipelukast) in IPF

MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market

and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced that following completion of an agreement with Penn State (Dr. Rebecca Bascom, Principal Investigator) and IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval by Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, MediciNova will initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of MN-001 (tipelukast) to treat moderate to severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very pleased to have completed the IRB review period and the agreement with Penn State and look forward to initiating patient enrollment this Fall." Dr. Iwaki further commented "MN-001 development is addressing an unmet medical need in targeting the most severely afflicted IPF patients."