SAN DIEGO, Dec. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (Nasdaq:MNOV) and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange (Code Number: 4875), announced that it has been granted a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a pending patent application, which covers the use of MN-221 for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma.