MediciNova Appoints Geoffrey O'Brien as Vice Presi

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (Nasdaq: MNOV ) and the Jasdaq Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced the appointment of Geoffrey O'Brien, J.D./M.B.A. as Vice President.

"I am very pleased to announce Geoff's appointment and welcome him to the MediciNova executive management team," commented Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., MediciNova's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Geoff has added a tremendous amount of value to MediciNova and has made substantial contributions in a range of areas including business development, strategic planning, clinical development, legal matters, patents, finance and administration. In addition, Geoff has demonstrated strong leadership skills."

Mr. O'Brien has served as Senior Director, Business Development and Strategic Planning for MediciNova since 2012 and was Director, Business Development from 2009-2012. Prior to joining MediciNova, Mr. O'Brien was an equity research analyst covering pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at UBS Securities, Nomura Securities, and Punk, Ziegel, and was a Vice President from 2004-2008. During his career as a senior equity research analyst on the sell side and buy side, he focused on clinical, scientific, financial, strategic and competitive analysis of development programs and marketed products. He used this analysis to predict the future prospects of both development-stage and established pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition, Mr. O'Brien executed acquisitions and equity offerings as a health care investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/Credit Suisse First Boston. Prior to graduate school, he worked on the successful development of a biotechnology product at The Liposome Company. Mr. O'Brien received a B.S. in chemistry, cum laude , from the University of Delaware and a J.D./M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

About MediciNova

MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company founded upon acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs with a commercial focus on the U.S. market. MediciNova's current strategy is to focus on its two prioritized product candidates, MN-166 (ibudilast) for neurological disorders, and MN-221 for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma. MN-166 is being developed in multiple indications, largely through investigator-sponsored trials and outside funding. MediciNova is engaged in strategic partnering and consortium funding discussions to support further development of both the MN-221 and MN-166 programs. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.medicinova.com .

INVESTOR CONTACT: Geoff O'Brien Vice President MediciNova, Inc.