MediciNova’s Business Strategy:
Acquire, Advance, Partner/Commercialize

In a short period of time, MediciNova has built a significant portfolio of products through its licensing activities with North American, European and Japanese biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. For each licensing candidate, the Company conducts extensive diligence on therapeutic rationale, market opportunities and current and anticipated levels of competition. Once an in-licensing candidate clears these hurdles, then further diligence is conducted on scientific merit, intellectual property and legal/regulatory status.

MediciNova typically acquires product candidates which already have a significant amount of preclinical and early clinical trial data that has been developed by the licensors outside of the United States. The Company then utilizes this data in preparing investigational new drug (IND) applications or foreign equivalents and in designing additional clinical trials. As a result, MediciNova believes it has been able to move its product development programs forward quickly. Completion of Phase I clinical testing for the Company’s first in-licensed compound, including cGMP synthesis and formulation selection, was achieved in only 18 months after the licensing agreement was signed. In less than five years since the first licensing agreement, MediciNova has filed or transferred six U.S. INDs and initiated eight clinical programs.

The Company’s success in gaining access to and acquiring high-value product candidates from Japanese pharmaceutical companies is largely attributable to the established relationships and broad industry experience of its global management team. This expertise provides an identifiable advantage over other drug development companies in the U.S. market. MediciNova believes that additional diversification and expansion of MediciNova’s pipeline of product candidates will help maximize the commercial opportunity and mitigate the risks inherent in drug discovery and development.