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Alcon has replaced Aurion Biotech\'s CEO Greg Kunst “effective immediately.”\n Eye care giant Alcon appears to have gained the upper hand in the ongoing power struggle with Aurion Biotech by securing a majority stake in the clinical-stage company and replacing its CEO.The move will see Aurion \"operate as a separate company with full support from Alcon to advance its clinical-stage allogeneic cell therapy asset, AURN001, into phase 3 for corneal edema secondary to corneal endothelial disease during the second half of 2025,” an Alcon spokesperson told Fierce Biotech.As part of the transaction, Alcon said in a March 26 release that it has promoted Aurion Chief Scientific Officer Arnaud Lacoste, Ph.D., to replace Greg Kunst as CEO “effective immediately.”The two companies have been locked in a struggle for months over Aurion’s desire to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Alcon’s subsidiary Alcon Research, which is an investor in Aurion, tried to block the IPO plans in court, arguing that its rights were being violated by Aurion’s plans to go public. Aurion countersued, claiming that the investor was trying to trap the biotech so it could buy Aurion at a low price. In late January, a judge determined that Alcon’s consent was not required for an Aurion IPO, writing that the investor’s “argument is illogical in light of the parties’ contractual scheme.” At the time, Alcon said it would appeal.On one point raised by the lawsuit, regarding Alcon’s ability to vote its full share of the 40% ownership stake it has had in Aurion since October 2024, the judge backed Alcon, saying the company “has the right to vote its full block of stock.” Deerfield Management, another one of Aurion’s investors, came to the biotech\'s defense last month. The firm sued Alcon to stop what it described as “an unrelenting campaign to take over Aurion” at a cheaper price.Deerfield’s intervention was triggered by what the firm called a “Valentine’s Day massacre,” where Alcon had entered into an agreement to buy Aurion stock from fellow investor Petrichor Opportunities Fund on Feb. 14, a move that would give Alcon a majority of voting shares. Later that day, Aurion\'s executive chair of the board Thomas Frinzi resigned, and Petrichor and Alcon swapped out a Petrichor board appointee for an Alcon designee, which resulted in Alcon holding three of six total board seats, according to the suit.Deerfield and Alcon both invested in Aurion as part of a $120 million series C round Deerfield led in 2022. Aurion’s focus is on regenerative therapies for eye diseases, and its lead candidate is a cell therapy for corneal edema secondary to endothelial dysfunction, a disease that currently requires invasive specialty surgery to treat.Deerfield declined to comment to Fierce yesterday about what Alcon’s newfound majority stake in Aurion means for the more recent litigation. Aurion had not responded to Fierce’s request for comment at time of publication.