MN 166 identified as potential beneficial pharmacotherapy for treatment of degenerative cervical myelopathy in Global Spine Journal.

The publication entitled “Developing Novel Therapies for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy [AO Spine RECODE-DCM Research Priority Number 7]: Opportunities from Restorative Neurobiology” and co-authored by MediciNova’s collaborator, Dr. Mark Kotter, Professor, Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues, discussed contemporary therapies that may hold therapeutic value in three broad categories of neuroprotection, neuroregeneration, and neuromodulation.

Among those reviewed, the authors discuss the attributes of MN-166 (ibudilast) that support its use in DCM. The combination of anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and neuroregenerative properties of MN 166 (ibudilast) is the basis for RECEDE-Myelopathy, a Phase III, double-blind, randomized controlled trial assessing its efficacy as an adjuvant treatment to decompressive surgery for DCM on mJOA (modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association) score and neck pain.

Key take-aways in the publication include: i. Chronic spinal cord compression due to DCM leads to ischaemia, neuroinflammation, demyelination, and neuronal loss. ii. People with DCM often develop and then suffer from lifelong disability, with less than 5% making a full recovery despite surgical decompression. iii. An increase in activated microglia and macrophages has been observed at the site of chronic spinal cord compression and is a source of pro-inflammatory cytokines and can lead to further cell death by necrosis and apoptosis iv. MN 166 (ibudilast) has been shown to exhibit central anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and neurotrophic/neuroregenerative effects by inhibition of makes a compelling case to assess MN 166 (ibudilast) for the treatment of DCM. vi. MN-166 (ibudilast) is the only drug currently being evaluated in Phase III as a regenerative medicine for the treatment of DCM.

About AO Spine RECODE-DCM Research Priority : The AO Spine RECODE-DCM is an international initiative to create a "research toolkit" to accelerate knowledge, discovery, and improve outcomes in degenerative cervical myelopathy. It has 10 research priorities. The seventh of these is defined as "Novel Therapies". This article is published as one of a series of reviews related to AO Spine RECODE-DCM featured in Global Spine Journal.

See: "Developing Novel Therapies for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy [AO Spine RECODE-DCM Research Priority Number 7]: Opportunities From Restorative Neurobiology"-Aref-Ali Gharooni, MBChB, MSc (Dist), Brian K. Kwon, MD, PhD, FRCSC, Michael G. Fehlings, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS, Timothy F. Boerger, PhD, Ricardo Rodrigues-Pinto, MD, PhD, FEBOT, et al.,Global Spine Journal, vol. 12, 1_suppl: pp. 109S-121S. , First Published February 17, 2022.