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January 19, 2017April 24, 2018

ForSight VISION4, Inc. Announces Acquisition by Roche

ForSight VISION4, a privately held biotechnology company revolutionizing drug delivery for treatment of retinal diseases, announced today that it has been acquired by Roche Holdings Inc. 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.”

The PDS is a durable intravitreal implant that is placed through a scleral incision in a one-time surgical procedure. It is then refilled using a proprietary refill needle by a physician in an office setting. The ranibizumab PDS is currently in a Phase II study, the “LADDER” Study (NCT02510794) sponsored by Genentech to define the duration of drug delivery possible with the PDS technology.

ForSight VISION4 has developed the PDS to facilitate a wide array of molecules and therapeutic payloads, including delivery of small molecules that typically have a short retention time inside the eye. The acquisition by Roche provides the opportunity for the PDS technology to be applied broadly to other molecules in the Roche pipeline as an approach for extending the duration between treatments for intravitreally injected drugs.

Read the full press release available here.

January 18, 2017April 24, 2018

Luxottica and Essilor Announce Mega Merger

UPDATE: Essilor and Delfin to create a global integrated player in the eyewear industry with the combination of Essilor and Luxottica. Click HERE for the full press release.

January 16: Merger reports confirmed by Luxottica holding company and Essilor. Read the details as published by Vision Monday …

January 15:
Reuters news is reporting tonight that a 46 Billion Euro merger of giants Essilor and Luxottica will be announced prior to stock market opening tomorrow, Monday January 16th. The deal reshapes the landscape of the industry bringing together the worlds largest optical frame company, with the leading lens and lab services company. In addition to frames and lenses, both companies have substantial market share of the traditional brick and mortar retail sector and e-retailing entities.

According to the sources, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Luxottica’s will become the largest single shareholder in the merged group and will control 31 per cent of voting rights. The two companies are approximately the same market value, making it a merger of equals, according to the reports.

The merged entity would reach revenues of nearly 16 billion euros and employ around 140,000 people world wide.

As early as March last year, Luxottica denied reports of a possible alliance with Essilor and Carl Zeiss, saying the relationship it had with the two groups was that they both were among its suppliers.

VuePoint will report further information once available.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-essilor-m-a-luxottica-group-idUSKBN14Z110

January 17, 2017May 20, 2026

Everyone Loves Vinyl Factory’s Catching

If you are into Hot Rods and heavy riffs, you will love these sunglasses named Catching from Vinyl Factory. But if you prefer bicycles and free-jazz, you’ll still go for them. Basically, whatever your tastes are, as long as you’ve got taste, you’ll like this model.

Distributed by Optiman Group : www.optimaninc.com

January 17, 2017April 24, 2018

Transitions Optical Appoints Darragh O’Connor as VP Global Marketing

DUBLIN – Transitions Optical has named Darragh O’Connor vice president, global marketing, effective immediately. He will be based in the Transitions Optical global brand headquarters in Dublin.

In this new role, O’Connor will direct the Transitions^® brand strategy and be responsible for all global marketing. He will lead the global marketing team to strengthen the Transitions brand as a leader in photochromics. O’Connor’s role will encompass global consumer and trade communication, digital marketing, retail marketing, product marketing and innovation, professional education and market insights.

As a member of the Transitions Optical operating committee he will be centrally involved in determining the company’s strategic direction. He will work with the global research and development team to identify new products that meet the needs of customers and continue to grow the Transitions brand. O’Connor will also work with the marketing organizations of the company’s lenscaster customers to develop the adaptive lenses category and the Transitions brand.

Click HERE to read the full press release.

January 12, 2017May 20, 2026

The “GOTHA” Sunglasses by Jimmy Choo: Signature Plexi

Safilo introduces the Jimmy Choo Eyewear Fall/Winter 2016 Collection. The GOTHA sunglasses have been created using the signature plexi material of the Jimmy Choo CANDY clutch. These lightweight metal round sunglasses are accented with glittered plexiglass eyebrows and gold metal details. The frames also feature the iconic Jimmy Choo temples and flat lenses.

Distributed by Safilo: www.safilo.com