Swiss Biosciences (“Company”) is a joint venture between the Fund and its strategic partner (top 5 Indian pharma company) to build a Global Clinical Research Organization (CRO) with an ‘India backend’ through the roll-up model. The global CRO platform aims to meet the needs of global pharmaceutical companies by (i) shortening the time to market, (ii) effectively recruiting study participants, (iii) reducing development costs and (iv) improving the overall quality of clinical trials. The Company has made its first acquisition in Radiant Research, a SMO/ CRO based in USA, in June 2007 with plans to follow up with similar investments in preferred geographies of South America, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific. Radiant has over the years, conducted more than 8,000 trials. Radiant is unique in that it provides CRO development services and conducts Phase II-IV clinical trials to its high bracket customers which include the likes of Novartis, Merck, Pfizer, GSK, Lilly and Wyeth. Radiant has one of the largest proprietary databases of healthy, normal and subject populations who have participated in clinical trials.

Currently of the US$ 80 billion global life sciences R&D market, CRO penetration level is close to 20%. With growing R&D spend and increasing participation in clinical development activities, the global CRO industry is poised to grow at a high rate of 13% over the next 3 years. The outsourcing of ‘high-end R&D’ by innovator pharma and biotech firms enables them to shorten the time and investment required for drug development. CRO’s having a global footprint are best positioned to capitalize this growing trend. CRO’s offer their clients the opportunity of progressing a new drug from its conception to FDA marketing approval without the drug sponsor having to maintain an elaborate infrastructure for these services.