SAN DIEGO, March 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq:MNOV) and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number:4875), today announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial, by holding the Investigator’s Meeting, to determine the safety and efficacy of MN-221 in patients with severe, acute exacerbations of asthma.