MediciNova Enters into US$20 Million Securities Purchase Agreement with a fund managed by 3D Investment Partners

LA JOLLA, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 (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 it has entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement pursuant to which MediciNova has agreed to issue US$20 million in shares of its common stock to 3D Opportunity Master Fund, a fund managed by 3D Investment Partners Pte. Ltd. (“3D”), in a private placement transaction.

MediciNova intends to use the proceeds received from the private placement primarily for the following three programs:

1) To initiate a new clinical trial of MN-166 (ibudilast) for glioblastoma, which could be a pivotal trial.

2) To develop an intravenous formulation of MN-166 (ibudilast), which is ideal for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who have difficulty with swallowing.

3) To initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of MN-001 (tipelukast) in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Yuichi Iwaki, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very pleased to reach this agreement with 3D Opportunity Master Fund. This investment will enable us to accelerate development of additional programs in our diverse pipeline. We believe that it is essential for shareholders and management to share the goal of increasing corporate value and to have investments that are accompanied by capital discipline. In this regard, we believe that 3D is an investor with a sincere desire to support our efforts to increase the true corporate value of MediciNova, which is our ultimate goal."

Motoki Sato, MD, Managing Director of 3D Investment Partners Pte. Ltd., commented, “We believe that this investment will meaningfully accelerate MediciNova’s drug development in the pipeline and could lead to unleashing its highest potential in value. Significant benefits could be brought to and shared among patients and healthcare professionals in need of effective drugs to combat rare diseases, as well as MediciNova’s stakeholders. We are pleased to have built an effective relationship with MediciNova through incentive alignment between management and shareholders.”