OKYO Pharma Limited said preclinical research pointed to the ‘potent’ ocular pain-reducing property of its lead drug, OK-101.
The asset is being developed for dry eye disease (DED) and was assessed by Pedram Hamrah, a cornea specialist and clinician-scientist at Tufts Medical Center, Boston.
Using a mouse model for corneal neuropathic pain, he was able to establish the anti-inflammatory mode of action had a significant impact on pain.
"The pain-relieving potential of a dry eye drug is very important because a considerable number of dry eye patients with chronic inflammation suffer from ocular pain, and a burning and gritty sensation," said Raj Patil, chief scientific officer of OKYO.
"The discovery of the pain-reducing feature of OK-101, in addition to its known anti-inflammatory activity, offers the opportunity that our drug could potentially provide pain relief in addition to reducing ocular inflammation in the millions of patients suffering from DED."
Okyo Pharma said its treatment for dry eye disease looks set to go straight into a phase II clinical trial in the fourth quarter of next year once its investigational new drug (IND) application has been approved.
Currently, the two leading products for dry eye disease are Xiidra, created by Novartis (NYSE: NVS), and Restasis, developed by Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV) (Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV)) (NYSE: ABBV).