MediciNova Announces Positive Results from Secondary Analysis of Phase 2 Trial of MN-166 ...

LA JOLLA, Calif., Dec. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 positive results from a secondary analysis of a Phase 2 trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) in alcohol use disorder (AUD) were published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

The clinical trial was a collaborative effort between MediciNova and Dr. Lara Ray, Professor, Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Brain Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant P50 DA005010-33). Topline results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial evaluating the effect of 14 days of ibudilast treatment on mood, heavy drinking, and neural reward signals in 52 non-treatment seeking individuals with AUD found that MN-166 (ibudilast) reduced heavy drinking and attenuated neural cue-reactivity compared to placebo (Grodin et al, Transl Psychiatry, 2021).

Neural and peripheral inflammation has been implicated in the development and maintenance of AUD, as evidenced by increased inflammation in such individuals. A secondary analysis of this study was performed to determine if participants with elevated peripheral levels of proinflammatory proteins, specifically C-reactive protein (CRP), would show a greater benefit from MN-166 (ibudilast) as assessed by clinical (drinks per drinking day, or DPDD; percent heavy drinking days, or PHDD) and biological (cue-elicited neural activation) outcomes.

The publication, entitled, “Baseline C-reactive protein levels are predictive of treatment response to a neuroimmune modulator in individuals with an alcohol use disorder: a preliminary study,” was authored by Dr. Lara Ray and colleagues at UCLA.