MediciNova's Alcohol Use Disorder Candidate Reduces Alcohol Craving, Odds Of Heavy Drinking

MediciNova Inc MNOV announced that secondary analysis of the Phase 2 trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) in alcohol use disorder (AUD) was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

• The publication describes a secondary analysis of a two-week clinical trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) that enrolled 52 non-treatment-seeking participants with AUD.  
• Initial findings showed that MN-166 (ibudilast), a neuroimmune modulator, reduces rates of heavy drinking and measures of alcohol craving.
• The drug did not significantly alter mean levels of stimulation or sedation and moderated the effect of daily stimulation on the same-day number of drinks consumed (p=0.045).
• Ibudilast attenuated alcohol-induced increases in craving compared with placebo (p=0.047) but no other subjective response measures.
• MN-166 (ibudilast) may reduce the acute and chronic proinflammatory effects of alcohol.
• Among individuals without withdrawal-related dysphoria, MN-166 (ibudilast) significantly tempered daily alcohol-induced changes in an urge to drink (p=0.021) and positive mood (p=0.001).
• In January, MediciNova received a Notice of Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office for a pending patent application covering MN-166 (ibudilast) for alcohol use disorder.
• Once issued, the patent maturing from this allowed patent application is expected to expire no earlier than May 2037. 
• The allowed claims cover a wide range of dosage strengths and dosing regimens of MN-166 alone and in combination with other agents.
• Price Action: MNOV shares are up 4.64% at $3.05 during the market session on the last check Friday.