ForSight VISION3, Inc. Announces Appointment of Bernard Haffey as President and CEO

MENLO PARK, Calif. and BOSTON, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- ForSight VISION3, Inc. announced today the appointment of Bernard Haffey as President and CEO to lead the company in its mission to become the first choice in corneal refractive surgery. ForSight VISION3, Inc. is the third spin out company from ophthalmic incubator ForSight Labs, LLC.

"Bernie Haffey has been a key driver of multiple breakthrough technologies in ophthalmology over the past 15 years," said Bill Link, Managing Director at Versant Ventures and Chairman of the Board of ForSight VISION3, Inc. "His experience makes him uniquely qualified to guide ForSight VISION3 to be a market leader.  Ophthalmology continues to be an exciting investment field and we are extremely fortunate to welcome Bernie's leadership and strategic expertise to VISION3."

Mr. Haffey is a veteran executive in ophthalmology and has held executive roles at several innovative medical technology companies, helping to bring three of those companies to successful acquisitions. Most recently, Mr. Haffey led NDO Surgical, Inc., guiding the sale of the company to a strategic partner in 2008. Under Haffey's leadership as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, IntraLase Corp. launched its laser vision technology globally and achieved significant operating profitability. IntraLase was acquired by Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) in 2007.  Prior to IntraLase, Haffey served as CEO at NeuroVision, Inc., as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Summit Autonomous, Inc. Summit Autonomous was acquired by Alcon Laboratories in 2000. Mr. Haffey's record of success within the medical device sector also includes serving at Mentor Ophthalmics, Inc. as Vice President of Sales and Marketing and at Hewlett-Packard's Medical Products Group in market development. A graduate of Colgate University, Haffey also holds an MBA from Cornell University, The Johnson Graduate School of Management.

"I am delighted to join the VISION3 team, who I have come to know over the last several months in my role as a management consultant," said Mr. Haffey. "I have also seen the evolution of the VISION3 technology, which I consider another breakthrough in the field of corneal refractive surgery." Mr. Haffey will also take a seat on the ForSight VISION3 Board of Directors.

ForSight VISION3, Inc. was founded in December of 2007 and is funded by three of the leading venture capital firms in the medical technology arena: Morgenthaler Ventures, Split Rock Partners and Versant Ventures. The existing ForSight VISION companies, Transcend Medical, ForSight Newco II (acquired by QLT, Inc. in 2007) and ForSight VISION4, Inc., are each developing high impact products for major ophthalmic markets.

About ForSight Labs, LLC

ForSight Labs is a community of ophthalmic innovation focused on improving the sight, care, and quality of life of visually impaired patients by creating high-impact eye care companies (http://www.forsightlabs.com).  ForSight Labs, LLC was established in 2005 by renowned ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon Eugene de Juan, Jr. MD in collaboration with The Foundry (http://www.thefoundry.com).  In late 2006, ForSight Labs launched its first company, Transcend Medical, Inc., focused on delivering new treatment options for the treatment of glaucoma.  In October 2007, its second spin out company ForSight Newco II, Inc., developing a proprietary ocular punctal plug drug delivery system, was acquired by QLT Inc. Its fourth company, ForSight VISION4, Inc. was funded in June of 2009.  ForSight Labs is backed by investors Morgenthaler Ventures (http://www.morgenthaler.com), Split Rock Partners (http://www.splitrock.com), and Versant Ventures (http://www.versantventures.com).

About Morgenthaler Ventures

Morgenthaler Ventures is a premier venture capital firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build valuable companies for more than 40 years. The firm currently has $3 billion under management, including a ninth fund capitalized at $400 million in November 2008.

Morgenthaler has invested in approximately 300 companies in life sciences and information technology. Representative life science companies include IPC - The Hospitalist Company, Ardian, Inc., Satiety Inc., OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Transcend, Catalyst Biosciences, Galleon, GlobeImmune, Moximed, SetPoint Medical, Symphony Medical and Perclose. The firm has offices in Menlo Park, CA; Boulder, CO; Boston, MA and Cleveland, OH. http://www.morgenthaler.com/ventures.

About Split Rock Partners  

Split Rock Partners, with offices in Menlo Park and Minneapolis, seeks emerging opportunities in healthcare, software and Internet services.  Split Rock closed a $275 million inaugural fund in April of 2005, and a $300 million second fund in May 2008.  Representative healthcare companies backed by the Split Rock team include Ardian, Atritech, Dexcom, Evalve, The Foundry, Prometheus and SpineTech.  Additional information about the firm can be found at http://www.splitrock.com.

About Versant Ventures

Founded in 1999, Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare venture capital firm that currently manages over $1 billion in committed capital.  Since its formation, Versant has invested in more than 75 companies in the Medical Device, Biotech, Healthcare Services and Healthcare Information Technology sectors.  The Versant team of twelve investment professionals located in Menlo Park and Newport Beach bring together more than 175 years of combined experience and success as venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.  Versant invests in early-stage healthcare companies promising to be significant, long-term market leaders.  For additional information, please visit http://www.versantventures.com.

SOURCE ForSight VISION3, Inc.