OKYO Pharma Ltd has received a US patent covering the use of its lead asset in dry eye disease (DED).
Entitled ‘Methods of Lowering Blink Reflex for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease’, the patent protects the intellectual property behind OK-101.
The OKYO discovery, a long-acting anti-inflammatory, is being developed to be applied topically.
It focuses on the G-protein-coupled receptors on the eye, which essentially act as the in-box for messages in the form of light energy, peptides, lipids, sugars, and proteins.
OK-101 is expected to move straight into phase II clinical trials in the fourth quarter of next year – once the investigational new drug application has been approved.
"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,” said chief executive, Gary Jacobs.
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)) (Abbvie (Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV))) (NYSE: ABBV).