MediciNova's tipelukast meets in Phase IIa for liver disease

MediciNova Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV; JASDAQ:4875) said it will stop early a Phase IIa trial of tipelukast (MN-001) to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) after an interim analysis showed that the product met the primary endpoint of reducing mean serum triglycerides. Tipelukast significantly reduced mean serum triglycerides to 185.2 mg/dL at eight weeks compared with 260.1 mg/dL at baseline (p=0.00006). The company said it will "accelerate further development" of the candidate, but did not respond to inquiries.

The open-label, U.S. trial was to enroll about 40 NASH and NAFLD patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Its primary endpoints were evaluating the change from baseline to week 12 in cholesterol efflux capacity and serum triglyceride levels. Data from the interim analysis will be presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver meeting on April 13 in Paris...