MediciNova, Inc. Appoints Mr. Hiroaki Shigeta to Its Board of Directors

• Press Release
• Source: MediciNova, Inc.
• On 6:00 am EDT, Wednesday September 16, 2009

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 16, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq:MNOV - News) and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced the appointment of Mr. Hiroaki Shigeta to its Board of Directors.

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Symbol	Price	Change
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"We are extremely pleased and fortunate to add an individual with such meaningful experience to our Board of Directors," said Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc. "Mr. Shigeta has a distinguished 40-year career leading international affiliates of global pharmaceutical firms. We feel that the addition of Mr. Shigeta brings a wealth of industry-specific knowledge to our Board of Directors, and we take his decision to join our Board of Directors as a vote of confidence in our company. We look forward to adding his expertise to our efforts to develop our product candidates and business relationships."

Mr. Shigeta has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Medicines Company since April 2007. Mr. Shigeta served as a consultant to The Medicines Company from July 2006 to December 2007. From January 2005 until June 2006, he served as a consultant to various Japanese pharmaceutical companies. From October 1993 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta served in a variety of senior management positions with Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. and its affiliates. From January 2003 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta was the U.S. Head, Far East Relations of Hoffman-La Roche and, from June 2002 to April 2003, he was a member of the Board of Chugai Seiyaku KK, Tokyo, a majority-owned affiliate of Roche Holding of Switzerland. From January 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Shigeta served as Chairman and Representative Director of Nippon Roche KK, a pharmaceutical company and a Japanese affiliate of Roche Holding of Switzerland. From October 1993 to December 2000, Mr. Shigeta was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Roche KK.

About MediciNova

MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet need with a specific focus on the U.S. market. Through strategic alliances primarily with Japanese pharmaceutical companies, MediciNova holds rights to a diversified portfolio of clinical and preclinical product candidates, each of which MediciNova believes has a well-characterized and differentiated therapeutic profile, attractive commercial potential and patent assets having claims of commercially adequate scope. MediciNova's pipeline includes six clinical-stage compounds for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, multiple sclerosis, asthma, interstitial cystitis, solid tumor cancers, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, preterm labor and urinary incontinence and two preclinical-stage compounds for the treatment of thrombotic disorders. MediciNova's current strategy is to focus its resources on its two prioritized product candidates, MN-221 for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and MN-166 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and either pursue development independently in the United States, in the case of MN-221, or establish a strategic collaboration to support further development, in the case of MN-166. MediciNova will seek to monetize its other product candidates at key value inflection points. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.medicinova.com.

The MediciNova, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3135

MediciNova, Inc.
Shintaro Asako, Chief Financial Officer
(858) 373-1500
info@medicinova.com
Rx Communications Group, LLC
Rhonda Chiger
(917) 322-2569
rchiger@rxir.com