LA JOLLA, Calif., March 09, 2020 (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 plans to initiate development of MN-166 (ibudilast) for severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). MediciNova’s decision to pursue development of this indication was based on positive results of a recent preclinical study in an animal model of ARDS (Med Sci Monit, 2020; 26: e922281). Results of this preclinical study showed that ibudilast treatment reversed histological changes observed in the ARDS mouse model including inflammation, hemorrhage, alveolar congestion, and alveolar wall edema. In this study, the pulmonary edema score was used to assess the degree of lung water accumulation. Importantly, pulmonary edema was significantly reduced by ibudilast treatment (p