As a result of regulatory approval, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASD: KPRX) has soared 62.20% at $5.32 in pre-market trading hours on Tuesday. KPRX has seen a dramatic increase in its share price, pointing towards a very successful future for the company.
What does KPRX get the go-ahead for?
The Phase 2 trial of KIO-101 for the treatment of the Ocular Presentation of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Autoimmune Diseases (OPRA+) has been approved for investigational new drug applications, Kiora Pharmaceuticals (KPRX) said today. In this investigation, 120 patients will be included in a multi-center, controlled, randomized, double-masked experiment to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of KIO-101 eye drops in autoimmune illness patients who show symptoms of the ocular surface disease. In Australia, patient enrollment for the research is anticipated to start in the first half of 2023.
Patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and other prevalent autoimmune disorders most frequently develop the ocular surface disease. Despite significant advancements in the last ten years in the systemic treatment of underlying autoimmune illnesses, these medications frequently fail to address local ocular pathology. Unfortunately, this leaves impacted autoimmune patients with few alternatives for eye medications that only provide minimal relief for the mild to severe ocular dryness, pain, and discomfort brought on by these conditions.
The topical eye drop KIO-101 has a well-established mode of action in autoimmune disorders. KIO-101 has demonstrated proof-of-concept in earlier clinical investigations on ocular inflammation. This medication may help individuals with common autoimmune illnesses ultimately narrow the large treatment gap for ocular disease. The non-steroidal autoimmune disease medication DHODH inhibitors, of which KIO-101 is a member, decrease T-cell proliferation and continuous proinflammatory cytokine production.
The yearly income from approved systemic medications in this class that treat systemic illness is around $2 billion. KIO-101 may have an impact on the local immune response in the eye that causes various autoimmune disorders’ ophthalmic signs and symptoms. The ocular symptoms of the autoimmune illnesses that KIO-101 is trying to treat are present in around 3.43 million Americans.
KPRX made an equity move:
This month, Kiora Pharmaceuticals (KPRX) and Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“LPC”), a seasoned shareholder in the company, agreed to a common stock purchase agreement for committed equity financing. KPRX has a 36-month option to sell LPC up to $10 million of its shares of common stock under the terms of the Purchase Agreement. It is anticipated that KPRX would use the net proceeds from the sale of its securities to LPC for working capital, other general business purposes, and the support of its activities, including clinical studies.
