On December 14, 2015 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), reported that it has received a notice of allowance for a new patent from the Chinese Patent Office which covers MN-029 (denibulin) di-hydrochloride (Press release, Avigen, DEC 14, 2015, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2122476 [SID:1234508573]).
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Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than July 2032. The allowed claims cover the compound, pharmaceutical compositions and a method of treating certain cell proliferative diseases, including cancer, using denibulin di-hydrochloride. MediciNova intends to use denibulin di-hydrochloride in future development.
"We are very pleased that the Chinese Patent Office will grant our compound patent for MN-029 especially considering that a compound patent is typically very highly valued in China. We will now consider developing a program for MN-029, perhaps through our Chinese joint venture," commented Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and CEO of MediciNova, Inc.
About MN-029
MN-029 is a novel, small molecule vascular disrupting agent (VDA) being developed for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. MediciNova licensed MN-029 from Angiogene Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Several preclinical pharmacology studies conducted by Angiogene Pharmaceuticals and MediciNova have assessed the mechanism of action and anti-tumor activity of MN-029 in vivo in rodent models of breast, adrenocarcinoma, colon carcinoma, lung carcinoma and KHT sarcoma. In these studies, MN-029 damaged poorly formed tumor blood vessels by weakening tumor blood vessel walls and causing leakage, clotting and eventual vascular shutdown within the tumor. These studies suggest that MN-029 acts quickly and is rapidly cleared from the body, which may reduce the potential for some adverse effects commonly associated with chemotherapy. Shutdown of tumor blood flow in tumor models was confirmed through the use of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. In two Phase 1 clinical studies conducted by MediciNova, MN-029 was well-tolerated at doses that reduced tumor blood flow.