OKYO Pharma Limited ("OKYO" or the "Company") - OKYO announces appointment of Dr Rajkumar Patil as Chief Scientific Officer

LONDON, March 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKYO (LSE: OKYO; OTCQB: EMMLF), the life sciences and biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and ocular pain, announces that it has appointed Dr Rajkumar Patil as Chief Scientific Officer.

Dr Patil brings 30 years of ophthalmic and pharmaceutical R&D experience. Dr Patil worked with Ora Inc, as Vice President of Research & Development, where he was responsible for driving all anterior and posterior segment research of Ora’s R&D Institute. During 2013-2018, he worked at iVeena Delivery Systems as Vice President of Advanced Ocular Delivery Systems. His term at iVeena included a two-year sabbatical in Singapore, where he served as an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at DUKE/NUS Medical School and Principal Investigator at Singapore Eye Research Institute.

Further, Dr Patil has also held several leadership roles at Alcon/Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research from 2004-2013, including Associate Director of Research and Head of Molecular Pharmacology glaucoma and retina research. Before joining Alcon, Dr Patil served as an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Cell Biology & Genetics at University of Nebraska Medical Centre in Omaha and as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Molecular Biology & Pharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr Patil received his PhD in Biochemistry from National Chemical Laboratory/University of Pune, India and completed his postdoctoral training in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. He is the recipient of the Olga Keith Wiess Special Scholar Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation and NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Dr Patil has authored over 50 peer-reviewed research articles and serves as reviewer and editorial board member for numerous journals.  

Dr Patil stated: "I am thrilled to join the OKYO team at this exciting point in the growth of the company. Lack of adequate treatments for dry eye and ocular allergy highly motivates me to find better and safer therapies for these disorders. I am specifically excited to lead the translational work supporting a novel approach to develop Chemerin receptor GPCR agonist (OK-101) that targets the inflammatory and analgesic pathways to treat dry eye syndrome, uveitis and allergic conjunctivitis".

"We are very excited to have Dr Patil appointed as Chief Scientific Officer at a very important time at OKYO”, said Gary S Jacob, CEO of OKYO. "Dr Patil has enormous experience in the clinical development of ophthalmic drugs, and he will be spearheading the development of our lead drug candidate, OK-101 to treat dry eye disease, a major unmet medical need in the ophthalmic space”.

About OKYO

OKYO Pharma Limited (LSE: OKYO) is a life sciences and biotechnology company admitted to listing on the standard segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the Main Market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc. OKYO is focusing on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat inflammatory dry eye diseases and ocular pain.

Enquiries:

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.okyopharma.com.