Benzinga | Jan 31, 2022 06:31AM EST

MediciNova Receives A Notice Of Allowance For A New Patent Covering MN-001 And MN-002 For Hepatic Ballooning In Canada

MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ: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 Canadian Intellectual Property Office for a pending patent application which covers MN-001 (tipelukast) and MN-002 (a major metabolite of MN-001) for hepatic ballooning.

Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than January 2035. The allowed claims cover the use of MN-001 or MN-002 for inhibiting hepatic ballooning. The allowed claims cover oral administration, including tablets and capsules, as well as liquid dosage forms. The allowed claims cover a wide range of dosage strengths and dosing frequencies.

Kazuko Matsuda, M.D. Ph.D, MPH., Chief Medical Officer, MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very pleased to receive notice that this new patent will be granted in Canada in addition to the upcoming issuance of a similar patent in Europe. Hepatocyte ballooning is a component of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) activity score. MN-001 improved NASH pathology by inhibiting hepatocyte ballooning in the NASH animal model and in the advanced NASH animal model. MN-001 demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the NAFLD activity score in both animal models."

About MN-001

MN-001 (tipelukast) is a novel, orally bioavailable, small molecule compound thought to exert its effects through several mechanisms to produce its anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic activity in preclinical models, including leukotriene (LT) receptor antagonism, inhibition of phosphodiesterases (PDE) (mainly 3 and 4), and inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO). The 5-LO/LT pathway has been postulated as a pathogenic factor in fibrosis development, and MN-001's inhibitory effect on 5-LO and the 5-LO/LT pathway is considered to be a novel approach to treat fibrosis. MN-001 has been shown to down-regulate expression of genes that promote fibrosis including LOXL2, Collagen Type 1 and TIMP-1. MN-001 has also been shown to down-regulate expression of genes that promote inflammation including CCR2 and MCP-1. In addition, histopathological data shows that MN-001 reduces fibrosis in multiple animal models.