MENLO PARK, Calif.—ForSight VISION4, a privately held biotechnology company innovating drug delivery for treatment of retinal diseases, announced that it has been acquired by Roche Holdings Inc. (OTCQX:RHHBY) The company is the fourth venture created by the Menlo Park incubator, ForSight Labs, LLC, and was funded entirely by two of the leading venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, Morgenthaler Ventures and Versant Ventures.

The acquisition expands Roche's exclusive access to the ForSight VISION4 PDS technology for long acting delivery of therapeutics to the eye. In 2010, ForSight VISION4, Inc. announced a collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for exclusive rights to use ForSight VISION4's proprietary drug delivery technology for the target VEGF-A.

"This transaction marks the successful culmination of an early and ongoing collaboration between the ForSight VISION4 team and the team at Genentech, and puts the PDS technology on a path to revolutionize retinal therapies for patients worldwide," said K. Angela Macfarlane, president and CEO of ForSight VISION4, Inc. "We believe that Roche, a leader in ophthalmic drug development, is the ideal partner to drive the further development of the PDS."

Under the terms of the agreement, Roche has acquired ForSight VISION4 for an upfront payment and additional earn out payments related to development and commercial milestones. Specific financial terms are not disclosed.

ForSight Labs, LLC is an ophthalmic incubator established in 2005 by renowned ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon Eugene de Juan, Jr., MD in collaboration with The Foundry. Over the past 10 years, ForSight Labs has started five additional VISION companies, which have collectively raised over $150 million in capital.

These include Transcend Medical, Inc. (acquired by Alcon), ForSight Newco II, Inc. (acquired by QLT), NEXIS Vision, Inc. (Out-Licensed), ForSight VISION5, Inc. (acquired by Allergan), and ForSight VISION6, Inc., including subsidiary FSV6, Ltd, Israel (privately held).