MediciNova, Inc (NASDAQ:MNOV) shares soared 111% in the regular and after-hours sessions on Tuesday.

What Happened: The biopharmaceutical company announced a partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to repurpose MN-166 (ibudilast) as a potential medical countermeasure against lung damage induced by chlorine gas.

BARDA, under a program aimed to repurpose drugs in response to chemical threats, will provide funding for proof-of-concept studies of MN-166 in preclinical models of chlorine gas-induced acute lung injury. 

“MN-166 has the potential to improve health outcomes and save lives. To date, more than 800 research participants have been treated with high-dose MN-166 in MediciNova’s clinical trials. MN-166 has shown a benign safety and tolerability profile,” said Kazuko Matsuda, Chief Medical Officer at MediciNova. 

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Why It Matters: MN-166 is the first compound to receive development support through the BARDA program.

Last week, the company announced it was discontinuing the development of a vaccine for COVID-19 in order to “maintain adequate resources for its other development programs.”

Price Action: MediciNova shares rose 105.11% to $11.65 in after-hours trading on Tuesday after closing 5.97% higher at $5.68.