Okyo seeks to delist from London Stock Exchange

Okyo Pharma LON:OKYO, the London and New York-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company announced on Tuesday (4th April) it is planning to delist from the London Stock Exchange in May.

The rationale behind the delisting was its lack of trading volume. The company, founded in 2007 in London, is also dual-listed on Nasdaq under the ticker ‘OKYO’ also cited the costs of remaining on the Main Market and Standard segments of the LSE.

The company originally listed in London in July 2018 and is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of eye diseases. Its main product is OK-101, is a novel chemerin receptor agonist that is being developed for the treatment of dry eye disease.

Dry eye disease is a chronic condition that affects the tear film, which is a thin layer of fluid that protects the eye. OK-101 is designed to increase tear production and improve the quality of tears, which could help to relieve the symptoms of dry eye disease.

Novel therapeutics

The pharma is also developing OK-102, a novel small molecule inhibitor of the Rho kinase pathway. Rho kinase is a protein that plays a role in the regulation of cell movement and proliferation. OK-102 is being developed for the treatment of a variety of eye diseases, including uveitis, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration.

The delisting will have no impact on the company’s American Depositary Shares, which are traded on Nasdaq. The securities to which the delisting relates are the Ordinary Shares of OKYO Pharma Limited with ISIN GG00BD3FV870. Following the delisting, it will no longer be possible to trade the Ordinary Shares on the Main Market or any other market of the LSE.

In a statement the company explained that it will shortly put proposals to shareholders, inter alia, to consolidate every 65 existing Ordinary Shares into one new ordinary share of no par value, thereby matching its current ADS ratio.

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Okyo then intends, on the delisting date, to collapse the ADS and directly list the company’s new ordinary shares on Nasdaq in place of the current ADSs. This is an administrative ‘substitution of security’ for the purposes of Nasdaq and current ADSs holders will automatically have their DTC accounts credited with the underlying new ordinary shares. ADS holders accordingly need to take no action.

The company opened trading on Tuesday, at 2p, and has returned -11.5% year-to-date and down -63.6% over one-year with its shares ranging between 1.57p and 8.5p over a 52-week period. The company has a market capitalisation of GBP34m.

This latest announcement throws further shade at London being a primary investment destination and follows WANdisco LON:WAND and construction company CRH LON:CRH seeking American listings and Arm Holdings also choosing America over the UK as the domicile for its IPO.