Roche invests in technology that could reduce injection burden

Swiss drugmaker Roche has acquired ForSight Vision4 and its port delivery system (PDS), a new technology that could potentially reduce the treatment burden associated with intravitreally injected drugs.

Placed through a scleral incision in a one-time surgical procedure, the PDS is a durable intravitreal implant that a physician can refill in the office using a proprietary needle. A phase 2 study evaluating a ranibizumab PDS is underway in patients with subfoveal wet AMD. Top-line data is expected in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Funded by two of the leading venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, ForSight Vision4 is the fourth venture created by the ophthalmic product incubator, ForSight Labs. ForSight Vision4 began collaborating with Roche's Genentech unit in 2010. Financial details were not disclosed.

ForSight Vision4 has developed the PDS to facilitate a wide array of molecules and therapeutic payloads, including delivery of small molecules that typically stay in the eye for a short duration. The acquisition provides the opportunity for the PDS technology to be applied to other molecules in the Roche pipeline.

"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."