OKYO Pharma announces issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,197,906 covering OKYO Pharma’s drug candidate OK-101 for use to treat dry eye disease

OKYO Pharma announces issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,197,906 covering OKYO Pharma’s drug candidate OK-101 for use to treat dry eye disease

LONDON and BOSTON, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKYO Pharma Limited (LSE: OKYO; OTCQB: EMMLF), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and ocular pain, today announced that the patent entitled “Methods of Lowering Blink Reflex for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease” has been issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) as U.S. Patent No. 11,197,906. This patent contains key claims covering OK-101 to treat dry eye disease. OK-101 is OKYO’s lead pre-clinical compound and is a novel long-acting GPCR-based anti-inflammatory drug candidate. The work recited in this patent lays out the potential of OK-101, a lipidated chemerin analogue, to treat patients with dry eye disease ("DED"). The drug, planned to be administered topically, is anticipated to open human studies with a Phase 2 clinical trial in DED patients in Q4, 2022.

“We have made significant progress with our pre-IND work on OK-101 and are planning to file the IND to treat DED in Q3 2022, followed by the commencement of a Phase 2 trial in DED patients in Q4 2022,” said Dr. Gary S. Jacob, CEO of OKYO. “We believe that OK-101 can provide a new way to treat DED patients who are presently not well served by drugs presently approved for treating dry eye disease.”

The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Gary S. Jacob, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OKYO.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION 2014/596/EU WHICH IS PART OF DOMESTIC UK LAW PURSUANT TO THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS (SI 2019/310) ("UK MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

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