MediciNova Inc. announced positive results from a study that examined the potential clinical efficacy of MN-001 for the treatment of NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis). MN-001 administered orally once daily (10, 30, and 100 mg/kg) for 3 weeks, was evaluated in the STAM (NASH-HCC) mouse model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, as measured by liver biochemistry and histopathology, NAFLD activity score (NAS), and percent of fibrosis and gene expression. MN-001, in a dose-dependent manner, significantly reduced fibrosis area compared with vehicle (p <0.01) as demonstrated by a reduction in liver hydroxyproline content, supporting MN-001's anti-fibrotic properties.

MN-001 significantly improved NAS (p <0.01), and this was most likely attributed to the reduction in lobular inflammation and hepatocyte ballooning, the latter being most notable. Hepatocyte ballooning is thought to be derived from oxidative stress-induced hepatocellular damage and is associated with disease progression of NASH. MN-001, in this animal model, improved NASH pathology by inhibiting hepatocyte damage (p <0.01) and ballooning (p <0.01).

Congruently, MN-001 was shown to down-regulate certain gene expression levels in the liver. At low and mid doses, MN-001 significantly down-regulated MCP-1 (p <0.01) and CCR2 mRNA (p < 0.01) expression levels compared to vehicle. Similarly, MN-001 significantly down-regulated Collagen type 1 (p <0.01) and TIMP-1 mRNA (p <0.001) expression levels at low and mid doses.

These gene expression data imply that MN-001 prevents the formation of fibrosis in the NASH model. Collectively, these results provide compelling evidence that MN-001 warrants further evaluation for the treatment of NASH in humans. Accordingly, MediciNova is preparing to initiate a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of NASH in the U.S.