OKYO Pharma Announces Chairman and Founder Acquires Shares

Rhea-AI Summary

OKYO Pharma (NASDAQ: OKYO) announced that Panetta Partners Limited, an entity in which Executive Chairman Gabriele Cerrone has a beneficial interest, purchased 10,119 ordinary shares on NASDAQ at $1.59 on March 19, 2026, bringing his total holdings to 10,526,416 shares.

The transaction is an insider purchase and updates the chairman's aggregate beneficial ownership.

Positive

• Insider purchase of 10,119 shares at $1.59
• Chairman ownership totals 10,526,416 shares

Negative

• Purchase size limited — 10,119 shares is a small incremental buy that is unlikely to materially affect float

Market Context

This announcement highlights further insider accumulation, with a chairman-linked entity buying 10,1...

Analysis

This announcement highlights further insider accumulation, with a chairman-linked entity buying 10,119 shares at $1.59, raising total beneficial ownership to 10,526,416 shares. It extends a pattern of repeated insider purchases over the past year. At the same time, OKYO has an effective $200,000,000 Form F‑3 shelf and has recently completed equity offerings, underscoring ongoing funding needs. Investors may watch future financings and additional insider transactions as key indicators.

Key Figures

Insider purchase size: 10,119 shares Purchase price: $1.59 per share Chairman total holding: 10,526,416 shares +5 more

Insider purchase size

10,119 shares

Panetta Partners acquisition on Nasdaq at $1.59

Purchase price

$1.59 per share

Price paid for 10,119 ordinary shares

Chairman total holding

10,526,416 shares

Post-transaction beneficial ownership per company release

Shelf capacity

$200,000,000

Form F-3 shelf registration for securities offerings

Underwritten shares

10,815,000 shares

Public offering at $1.85 per share on Feb 12, 2026

Offering gross proceeds

$20 million

Initial underwritten public offering before fees

Additional shares exercised

1,109,060 shares

Underwriter’s partial option exercise on Mar 12, 2026

Total gross proceeds

$22 million

Underwritten offering including option exercise

Previous Acquisition Reports

5 past events · Latest: Dec 15

Same Type 5 events

1. Dec 15

   Insider share purchase

   24h Move

   -8.3%

   Chairman-linked entity acquired 24,551 shares, lifting holding to 10,516,297.

2. Dec 03

   Insider share purchase

   24h Move

   -5.8%

   Chairman-linked entity bought 27,051 shares, raising stake to 10,491,746.

3. Nov 21

   Insider share purchase

   24h Move

   +11.0%

   Chairman-linked entity acquired 82,018 shares, total holding 10,464,695.

4. Oct 16

   Insider share purchase

   24h Move

   +1.9%

   Chairman-linked entity bought 210,000 shares, increasing stake to 10,382,677.

5. Jan 31

   Insider share purchase

   24h Move

   -3.6%

   CEO and chairman-linked entity bought 30,000 shares combined, boosting ownership.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Key Terms

neuropathic corneal pain, inflammatory eye diseases

2 terms

neuropathic corneal pain medical

"developing investigational therapies for the treatment of neuropathic corneal pain (NCP)"

Neuropathic corneal pain is chronic, often severe eye pain caused by damage or malfunction in the tiny nerves of the cornea, where the eye surface can feel burning, stinging, or like something is in it despite little visible damage. It matters to investors because it represents a persistent, hard-to-treat medical need that drives demand for new drugs, diagnostics, devices and regulatory approvals, similar to how fixing a frayed electrical wire stops false alarm signals.

inflammatory eye diseases medical

"and for inflammatory eye diseases, today announced it has been informed"

Inflammatory eye diseases are conditions in which the eye’s tissues become swollen and irritated by the body’s immune response, causing symptoms such as redness, pain, light sensitivity, and potential vision loss if untreated. For investors, these conditions matter because they drive demand for diagnostics, prescription drugs and medical procedures; developments in treatments, clinical trial results, or regulatory approvals can significantly affect the revenue and valuation of companies working on therapies—think of a new drug as a more effective fire extinguisher for a neighborhood blaze.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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LONDON and NEW YORK, March 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKYO Pharma Limited (NASDAQ: OKYO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing investigational therapies for the treatment of neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) and for inflammatory eye diseases, today announced it has been informed that Panetta Partners Limited, an entity in which Gabriele Cerrone, the Executive Chairman, has a beneficial interest, has acquired 10,119 of the Company’s ordinary shares on NASDAQ at $1.59, bringing his total holding to 10,526,416 shares.

About Urcosimod (formerly called OK-101)

Urcosimod is a lipid conjugated chemerin peptide agonist of the ChemR23 G-protein coupled receptor which is typically found on immune cells of the eye responsible for the inflammatory response, as well as on neurons and glial cells in the dorsal root ganglion. Urcosimod has been shown to produce anti-inflammatory and pain-reducing activities in a mouse model of dry eye disease and in a neuropathic corneal pain mouse model, respectively. OKYO recently announced positive data on NCP pain reduction in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked Phase 2a trial involving 18 neuropathic corneal pain subjects. Urcosimod has shown significant pain reduction in an earlier 240 subject Phase 2, multi-center, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial in DED, which supports the development rationale in NCP.

About OKYO Pharma

OKYO Pharma Limited (Nasdaq: OKYO) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for the treatment of neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) and inflammatory eye diseases, with ordinary shares listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. OKYO is focused on the discovery and development of novel molecules to treat neuropathic corneal pain and other ocular diseases. OKYO recently completed a successful phase 2 trial of its flagship drug urcosimod in subjects with NCP and plans to initiate a ~150 subject Phase 2b/3 multiple-dose study of urcosimod to treat NCP in the first half of this year.

For further information, please visit www.okyopharma.com.

Inquiries:

Business Development & Investor Relations

Paul Spencer

+44 (0)20 7495 2379

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What did OKYO announce about the March 19, 2026 insider purchase (NASDAQ: OKYO)?

An entity linked to Executive Chairman Gabriele Cerrone bought 10,119 OKYO shares at $1.59. According to the company, this purchase increased his total beneficial holdings to 10,526,416 shares on March 19, 2026.

How many OKYO shares does Executive Chairman Gabriele Cerrone now hold after the March 19, 2026 transaction?

He holds a total of 10,526,416 ordinary shares following the purchase. According to the company, Panetta Partners Limited acquired 10,119 shares at $1.59 as part of that increase.

At what price were the OKYO shares purchased by the entity tied to the chairman on March 19, 2026?

The shares were purchased at $1.59 per share on NASDAQ. According to the company, Panetta Partners Limited executed the acquisition of 10,119 shares at that price.

Does the March 19, 2026 chairman purchase of OKYO shares indicate a major change in ownership?

No, the purchase is a modest incremental insider buy and does not indicate a major ownership shift. According to the company, the transaction added 10,119 shares, bringing total holdings to 10,526,416 shares.

How might the March 19, 2026 insider purchase by the OKYO chairman affect investors?

The purchase signals insider participation but is small in scale and unlikely to change float materially. According to the company, the acquisition was 10,119 shares at $1.59, updating the chairman's aggregate holdings.