MediciNova Secures Patent for MN-166 and Riluzole

MediciNova announces that it had received a Notice of Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office for MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole for the medication of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

FREMONT, CA: MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical firm listed on the NASDAQ Global Market and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has announced that it has got a Notice of Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office for a pending patent application covering the combination of MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole for the medication of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

Once issued, the patent resulting from this authorized patent application is estimated to expire no earlier than November 2035. The permitted claims cover the use of MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole to treat a patient with ALS, where the treatment results in stabilizing the patient's scleroses condition. The allowed claims for MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole cover a massive range of doses and dosing regimens.

Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very pleased to receive notice that this new patent will be granted. Previously, similar patents were granted in the U.S. and Japan based on data from our first clinical trial in ALS patents. 

We previously announced results of a responder analysis which found that the proportion of responders, defined as stable or improved in ALS functional score, muscle test and subjective ALSAQ-5 quality of life assessment, was higher in the MN-166 plus riluzole-treated group compared to the riluzole-only group. We believe this new patent could substantially increase the potential value of MN-166. We are currently conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial with ALS patients in the U.S. and Canada using MN-166 plus riluzole. The U.S. FDA granted both orphan-drug designation and fast-track designation to MN-166 for the treatment of ALS, and the European Commission granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation to MN-166 for the treatment of ALS."

MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical organization established on developing advanced, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical requirements, with a primary commercial emphasis on the United States market.