SAN DIEGO, Sept. 26, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (Nasdaq:MNOV) and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (4875), today announced a private offering of common stock and Series B convertible preferred stock to Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (4547). Kissei has agreed to purchase 800,000 shares of common stock at $2.50 per share and 220,000 shares of Series B preferred stock at $25.00 per share. The Series B preferred shares will be convertible to common shares at a conversion rate of 1:10.
Proceeds from the sale of shares will be $7.5 million and will be used to fund continuing development of MN-221. The closing of the private offering is subject to the condition that the securities registration statement concerning the shares of common stock in Japan becomes effective and other customary closing conditions.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of MediciNova nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. was founded in 1946 and has grown into one of Japan's leading pharmaceutical companies. Kissei's management vision is to be an R&D-oriented pharmaceutical company that contributes to the health of people around the world through developing and offering innovative drugs. Kissei is actively pursuing collaborations with many companies to strengthen its R&D pipeline and also promoting global expansion by licensing out the original agents as an important management strategy.
About MediciNova
MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company founded upon acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases with a commercial 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 coverage 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 and other neurologic conditions, 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 on its two prioritized product candidates, MN-221, for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, and Ibudilast (MN-166/AV411). Each drug candidate is involved in clinical trials under U.S. and Investigator INDs. MediciNova is engaged in strategic partnering discussions to support further development of the MN-221 and Ibudilast programs. Additionally, MediciNova will seek to monetize opportunistically its other pipeline candidates. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.MediciNova.com.
Note: MediciNova acquired an exclusive, worldwide (excluding Japan), sublicensable license to MN-221 from Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The intellectual property acquired from Kissei includes extensive preclinical and clinical safety data.
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Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the expected closing of the private offering and statements regarding development and partnering strategy. These forward-looking statements may be preceded by, followed by or otherwise include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "can," "could," "may," "will," "would," or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties relating to closing a financing, and the other risks and uncertainties described in MediciNova's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and its subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MediciNova disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements.