Kiora Pharmaceuticals closes private placement of up to $24 million

The placement and its investors

Kiora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KPRX) said on April 7, 2026 that it had closed a private placement providing up to $24 million in gross proceeds. The transaction closed on April 6, 2026. It consists of $5.0 million of upfront funding and up to $19 million more if the accompanying warrants are exercised.

The sole investors are Perceptive Advisors, which is new to Kiora, and ADAR1 Capital Management. The release says no placement agent was engaged and that the placement was priced at the market under Nasdaq rules. Blank Rome LLP served as Kiora's legal adviser. The release does not give the number of shares sold.

Each share of common stock, or a pre-funded warrant in its place, was sold with four short-term Tranche A-1 common warrants and one Tranche A-2 common warrant, at a combined price of $2.543. All of the common warrants can be exercised immediately at $1.94 per share. The pre-funded warrants have an exercise price of $0.0001 per share.

Warrant terms and the resale filing

The Tranche A-1 warrants have an initial term of up to nine months, which falls to 30 days if Kiora completes a strategic transaction that materially expands the market opportunity of its therapeutic assets. The Tranche A-2 warrants have an initial term of up to four years, which falls to 30 days if any Kiora asset completes enrollment in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

The $19 million depends on the investors choosing to exercise the warrants at $1.94 per share. Kiora has also agreed to file a registration statement covering the resale of the shares sold and the shares issuable on exercise of the warrants. The release does not say when that filing is due.

The business and its trials

The 10-K filed March 25, 2026 calls Kiora a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing therapies for retinal diseases. Its lead asset, KIO-301, is a small molecule the company calls a "photoswitch" for retinitis pigmentosa, a group of inherited diseases that cause progressive loss of photoreceptors. The company completed a Phase 1b trial in September 2023 and partnered the asset with Théa Open Innovation, a sister company of Laboratories Théa, in January 2024.

The Phase 2 study, ABACUS-2, is a 36-patient, multicenter, double-masked, randomized, controlled trial in patients with ultra-low vision or no light perception. The 10-K says enrollment is ongoing, so the filing reports no Phase 2 results.

KIO-104, a DHODH inhibitor for diabetic macular edema and posterior non-infectious uveitis, is the second program. The company says a Phase 1b/2a study, reported in October 2022, showed that a single injection decreased intraocular inflammation and improved visual acuity for the duration of the study. The 10-K calls the drug "best-in-class," which is the company's own view. The current KLARITY trial is an open-label, multiple-dose study, with dosing beginning in the third quarter of 2025. Open-label means patients and investigators know what is being given.

The financial position

Kiora's revenue fell from $16.0 million in 2024 to zero in 2025. The company reported net income of $3.6 million for 2024 and a net loss of $10.8 million for 2025. Research and development expense rose from $7.8 million to $10.8 million over the same period. Cash used in operations was $10.0 million in 2025, after $8.6 million of cash provided by operations in 2024.

The $5.0 million of upfront funding is less than the $10.0 million of cash used in operations in 2025. The release does not say how the company plans to cover its operating costs, and it does not give a cash balance at closing.

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