SAN DIEGO, Calif., Nov. 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq:MNOV) and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (4875), today announced the appointment of Mr. Kousuke Nakata CPA to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Nakata is Licensing Manager of Kissei Pharmaceutical, Co. Ltd. and has been with Kissei since 1997.
"We are extremely pleased and fortunate to add a senior executive of Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., to our Board of Directors," said Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc. "Mr. Nakata provides a very helpful link between Kissei and MediciNova, as Kissei is not only the licensor of our lead compound, MN-221, but also our largest shareholder. We believe he will be a great asset to MediciNova and all our shareholders."
About MediciNova
MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company founded upon acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases with a commercial focus on the U.S. market. Through strategic alliances primarily with Japanese pharmaceutical companies, MediciNova holds rights to a diversified portfolio of clinical and preclinical product candidates, each of which MediciNova believes has a well-characterized and differentiated therapeutic profile, attractive commercial potential, and patent coverage of commercially adequate scope. MediciNova's pipeline includes six clinical-stage compounds for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, multiple sclerosis and other neurologic conditions, asthma, interstitial cystitis, solid tumor cancers, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, preterm labor and urinary incontinence and two preclinical-stage compounds for the treatment of thrombotic disorders. MediciNova's current strategy is to focus on its two prioritized product candidates, MN-221, for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, and Ibudilast (MN-166/AV411). Each drug candidate is involved in clinical trials under U.S. and Investigator INDs. MediciNova is engaged in strategic partnering discussions to support further development of the MN-221 and Ibudilast programs. Additionally, MediciNova will seek to monetize opportunistically its other pipeline candidates. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.medicinova.com.
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