UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): September 14, 2009
MEDICINOVA, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| DELAWARE | 001-33185 | 33-0927979 | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | ||
| 4350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DRIVE, SUITE 950, SAN DIEGO, CA | 92122 | |||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |||
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 373-1500
Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
| Item 5.02. | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On September 14, 2009, the Board of Directors of MediciNova, Inc. (“MediciNova”) increased the size of the Board of Directors from six to seven and elected Hiroaki Shigeta to the newly-created vacancy. Mr. Shigeta brings significant experience to MediciNova in the management of biopharmaceutical companies, the development of strategic partnerships and extensive knowledge about, and contacts with, Japanese pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Shigeta has served as a director of The Medicines Company, a company listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc., since April 2007. Mr. Shigeta served as a consultant to The Medicines Company from July 2006 to December 2007. From January 2005 until June 2006, he was a consultant to several Japanese pharmaceutical companies. From October 1993 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta served in a variety of senior management positions with Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. and its affiliates. From January 2003 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta was the U.S. Head, Far East Relations of Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. and, from June 2002 to April 2003, he was a Member of the Board of Chugai Seiyaku KK, Tokyo, a majority-owned affiliate of Roche Holding Ltd. of Switzerland (“Roche Holding”). From January 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Shigeta served as Chairman and Representative Director of Nippon Roche KK, a pharmaceutical company and a Japanese affiliate of Roche Holding. From October 1993 to December 2000, Mr. Shigeta was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Roche KK. Mr. Shigeta received a B.A. in economics from Momoyama Gakuin University in Osaka, Japan and a B.Sc. from Haas Business School, University of California at Berkeley.
In accordance with the terms of MediciNova’s Amended and Restated 2004 Stock Incentive Plan, Mr. Shigeta received on September 14, 2009 an automatic grant of option to purchase 1,000 shares of MediciNova’s common stock, as a result of his appointment to MediciNova’s Board of Directors. These options were fully vested and immediately exercisable at a price of $6.18 per share as of the date of grant.
| Item 7.01. | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
On September 16, 2009, MediciNova issued a press release (the “Press Release”) announcing the election of Hiroaki Shigeta to its Board of Directors. A copy of the Press Release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1. The information in this Current Report on Form 8-K being provided under this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1 furnished herewith, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for any purpose of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities of such Section. The information in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
| 99.1 |
Press release of MediciNova, Inc., dated as of September 16, 2009. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, MediciNova has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| MEDICINOVA, INC. | ||||
| Date: September 16, 2009 | By: | /s/ Shintaro Asako | ||
| Name: | Shintaro Asako | |||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |||
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Exhibit 99.1
 |
CONTACT: Shintaro Asako Chief Financial Officer Phone: (858) 373-1500 E-mail: info@medicinova.com | |
| Rhonda Chiger Rx Communications Group, LLC Phone: (917) 322-2569 E-mail: rchiger@rxir.com | ||
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MediciNova, Inc. Appoints Mr. Hiroaki Shigeta
To Its Board of Directors
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – September 16, 2009 – MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market (Trading Symbol: MNOV) and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced the appointment of Mr. Hiroaki Shigeta to its Board of Directors.
“We are extremely pleased and fortunate to add an individual with such meaningful experience to our Board of Directors,” said Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc. “Mr. Shigeta has a distinguished 40-year career leading international affiliates of global pharmaceutical firms. We feel that the addition of Mr. Shigeta brings a wealth of industry-specific knowledge to our Board of Directors, and we take his decision to join our Board of Directors as a vote of confidence in our company. We look forward to adding his expertise to our efforts to develop our product candidates and business relationships.”
Mr. Shigeta has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Medicines Company since April 2007. Mr. Shigeta served as a consultant to The Medicines Company from
July 2006 to December 2007. From January 2005 until June 2006, he served as a consultant to various Japanese pharmaceutical companies. From October 1993 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta served in a variety of senior management positions with Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. and its affiliates. From January 2003 to December 2004, Mr. Shigeta was the U.S. Head, Far East Relations of Hoffman-La Roche and, from June 2002 to April 2003, he was a member of the Board of Chugai Seiyaku KK, Tokyo, a majority-owned affiliate of Roche Holding of Switzerland. From January 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Shigeta served as Chairman and Representative Director of Nippon Roche KK, a pharmaceutical company and a Japanese affiliate of Roche Holding of Switzerland. From October 1993 to December 2000, Mr. Shigeta was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Roche KK.
About MediciNova
MediciNova, Inc. is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet need with a specific focus on the U.S. market. Through strategic alliances primarily with Japanese pharmaceutical companies, MediciNova holds rights to a diversified portfolio of clinical and preclinical product candidates, each of which MediciNova believes has a well-characterized and differentiated therapeutic profile, attractive commercial potential and patent assets having claims of commercially adequate scope. MediciNova’s pipeline includes six clinical-stage compounds for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, multiple sclerosis, asthma, interstitial cystitis, solid tumor cancers, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, preterm labor and urinary incontinence and two preclinical-stage compounds for the treatment of thrombotic disorders. MediciNova’s current strategy is to focus its resources on its two prioritized product candidates, MN-221 for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and MN-166 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and either pursue development independently in the United States, in the case of MN-221, or establish a strategic collaboration to support further development, in the case of MN-166. MediciNova will seek to monetize its other product candidates at key value inflection points. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.medicinova.com.
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