MediciNova Receives Notice of Allowance for Pending Patent Application Covering MN-029

MediciNova (Nasdaq: MNOV) 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-029 (denibulin) di-hydrochloride. Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than July 2032. The allowed claims cover a compound, pharmaceutical composition and method of treating certain cell proliferation diseases, including solid tumors, based on denibulin di-hydrochloride. MediciNova intends to use denibulin di-hydrochloride in future development.   "We are very pleased that this new patent will be granted as we believe it will substantially increase the length of exclusivity and hence the potential value of MN-029," said Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and CEO of MediciNova, Inc. "In addition, the new patent allows us more flexibility as we work to determine which solid tumors with high unmet medical needs are best to target in future development." About MN-029 MN-029 is a novel, small molecule vascular disrupting agent (VDA) being developed for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. See full press release