OKYO Pharma Limited has appointed Robert J. Dempsey as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, as part of a planned leadership transition aimed at supporting the company’s next phase of clinical and corporate development. Dempsey also joins the board as an executive director, succeeding Gary S. Jacob, Ph.D., who will continue with the company as Chief Development Officer and a member of the board.
OKYO, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company listed on Nasdaq, is focused on developing urcosimod, an investigational therapy for neuropathic corneal pain and other inflammatory eye diseases for which there are currently no FDA-approved treatments. The board described the leadership change as designed to maintain strategic continuity while enhancing commercialization and transaction expertise as the urcosimod program advances toward larger, registration-directed studies.
Dempsey brings more than two decades of experience in global ophthalmology, including senior roles overseeing drug development, commercialization and strategic deals, and previously helped lead the commercialization and divestiture of major dry eye therapies. Jacob, who led OKYO for roughly four years, will now focus on guiding clinical strategy and development execution. The company indicated that the revamped leadership structure is intended to support potential partnering, financing and future value-creating opportunities around urcosimod and its broader ophthalmology pipeline.
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