MediciNova Receives Notice of Allowance for New Patent Covering the Combination of MN-166

MediciNova 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 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a pending patent application which covers the combination of MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

As quoted in the press release:

Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than November 2035. The allowed claims cover a method of treating a patient diagnosed with ALS, as well as a wide range of other neurodegenerative diseases, with the combination of MN-166 (ibudilast) and riluzole.  Other neurodegenerative diseases covered by this patent include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Lewy body disease, motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy, myelopathy, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and many others.

MediciNova was previously granted a U.S. patent which covers the use of MN-166 (ibudilast) as monotherapy for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and it expires no earlier than January 2029.  MediciNova was previously granted three U.S. patents which cover the use of MN-166 (ibudilast) as monotherapy for the treatment of progressive multiple sclerosis including both primary progressive multiple sclerosis and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.  The first one of these patents expires no earlier than November 2029 and patent term restoration would add 5 years once MN-166 (ibudilast) is approved for progressive multiple sclerosis, extending the patent expiration to November 2034.

Click here to read the full press release.