The leading eye-care company Alcon on Wednesday said it has acquired a majority stake in Aurion Biotech, capping months of legal wrangling over the future of the cell therapy developer.

周三，领先的眼科护理公司爱尔康表示，已收购了 Aurion Biotech 的多数股权，结束了这家细胞治疗开发商未来数月的法律纠纷。

As part of the takeover, Aurion’s board appointed Chief Scientific Officer

作为收购的一部分，Aurion 的董事会任命了首席科学官

Arnaud Lacoste

阿诺·拉科斯特

as the company’s new CEO, immediately replacing Greg Kunst. Aurion will continue as a separate company, “with full support from Alcon,” according to Wednesday’s

作为公司新任首席执行官，立即接替格雷格·孔斯特。奥里恩将继续作为一家独立公司运营，“并得到爱尔康的全力支持”，根据周三的声明。

press release

新闻稿

.

。

Aurion is focused on diseases that affect the endothelium, the layer of cells on the posterior surface of the cornea. Using cell therapy, the company aims to reverse vision loss and offer patients an

奥里昂专注于影响内皮层的疾病，即角膜后表面的细胞层。通过细胞疗法，该公司旨在逆转视力丧失并为患者提供一种新的治疗选择。

easier recovery

更容易恢复

than treatments that involve corneal endothelial transplant procedures. Aurion has an approved product in Japan and is advancing another, AURN001, in Phase 1/2 research in the U.S.

比涉及角膜内皮移植手术的治疗方法更有效。Aurion在日本有一个已获批的产品，并且正在美国推进另一个产品AURN001的1/2期研究。

The company had generated interest among investors, raising

公司已引起投资者的兴趣，筹集了

$120 million

1.2亿美元

in a 2022 financing led by Deerfield Management that included participation from Alcon. As Aurion looked for further funding, Alcon expressed interest in buying the company, but its offer was rejected, according to court documents. Aurion then

在Deerfield Management领投、Alcon参与的2022年融资中。根据法庭文件，当Aurion寻求进一步资金时，Alcon表示有兴趣收购该公司，但其报价遭到拒绝。随后，Aurion

made plans to go public

计划公开上市

.

。

Alcon, however, was already a top shareholder and sued to block Aurion’s IPO,

然而，爱尔康已经是主要股东，并起诉阻止奥里昂的首次公开募股，

losing in court

在法庭上败诉

in January. Deerfield also

一月。迪尔菲尔德也

sued Alcon

起诉爱尔康

, saying Alcon was trying to thwart the IPO so it could buy Aurion itself at a discount. Independent analyses placed a multibillion-dollar value on Aurion even before it launched its first product in Japan and completed a clinical trial in the U.S., Deerfield said.

，称爱尔康试图阻止IPO，以便能以折扣价自行收购奥里昂。迪尔菲尔德表示，独立分析机构对奥里昂的估值已达数十亿美元，而此时该公司尚未在日本推出其首款产品，也未完成美国的临床试验。

For more than two years, Alcon “has waged an unrelenting campaign” to take over Aurion “at a highly discounted valuation,” Deerfield alleged. “Alcon has sought to cut off Aurion’s ability to obtain financing from sources other than Alcon.”

德尔菲尔德指控称，两年多来，爱尔康“一直在进行一场不懈的运动”，以“极低的估值”接管奥里恩。 “爱尔康试图切断奥里恩从爱尔康以外的其他来源获得融资的能力。”

As of February, Alcon held about 40.5% of Aurion and Deerfield held about 34%, according to Deerfield’s lawsuit. Alcon’s statement on Wednesday made no mention of the planned IPO. An Aurion spokesperson declined to comment to BioPharma Dive. Officials at Alcon and Deerfield didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment..

截至二月，根据Deerfield的诉讼，Alcon持有Aurion约40.5%的股份，而Deerfield持有约34%。Alcon在周三的声明中没有提到计划中的IPO。Aurion的发言人拒绝向BioPharma Dive发表评论。Alcon和Deerfield的官员没有立即回应置评请求。

In Alcon’s release, new Aurion CEO Lacoste said his company looks forward to “leveraging Alcon’s global resources and commercial expertise” to move AURN001 into Phase 3 development later this year. The Phase 1/2 study included 97 patients with corneal edema secondary to corneal endothelial dysfunction..

在爱尔康的公告中，新任Aurion公司首席执行官拉科斯特表示，他的公司期待“利用爱尔康的全球资源和商业专长”，在今年晚些时候将AURN001推进到第三阶段开发。这项1/2期研究包括97名因角膜内皮功能障碍导致角膜水肿的患者。