Synexus

Lyceum Capital announced the acquisition of Synexus Clinical Research (�Synexus�) for �18.1 million in November 2007, presenting Lyceum�s first platform investment from its second fund (�Lyceum Capital Fund II�), which closed at �255m in February 2008.

Established in the early 1990�s, Synexus is the largest patient recruitment organisation in Europe, carrying out clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies directly and through Clinical Research Organisations (�CROs�). The company focuses on the recruitment, management and retention of patients in later stage clinical trials (generally Phase III) across both primary and secondary care and disease prevention and currently operates from 13 sites across 6 countries (UK, South Africa, India, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria).

Since its inception, Synexus has developed a reputation as a highly efficient patient recruiter and clinical trials manager, creating value for the global pharmaceutical industry by enabling the recruitment of large volumes of patients at the lowest cost through the use its� unique operating model.

Faced with a number of extreme pressures - including the demand for larger clinical trials from regulatory authorities to head-off drug safety concerns, escalating costs in bringing new active substances to market and an increase in the total development time for new products � developing ways to increase the efficiency of later stage clinical trials has become an important quest for pharma companies as they attempt to keep pace with rivals in the development of �blockbuster� medications.

In contrast to the bottleneck that traditional patient recruitment and retention methods often represent, Synexus offers a professional and streamlined solution, utilizing an international network of clinical trial centres with the capacity to handle hundreds of patients, whilst having access to an extensive database of potential patients at any one point in time. Given the economies of scale and operational efficiencies available to its clients, Synexus provides an opportunity for pharma companies and CROs to deliver enhanced returns to shareholders during the cycle of drug development and evolution.

Acquired through a �public-to-private� transaction when the company was delisted from AIM at the end of 2007, the acquisition presents an exciting opportunity for Lyceum Capital to accelerate value by transforming Synexus through productivity and efficiency gains and a broadening of scale at a national and international level.

With the potential for significant organic growth and professionalisation, coupled together with numerous UK and global acquisition opportunities in a highly fragmented marketplace and expansion into new therapy areas in adjacent parts of the value chain, Lyceum�s investment and intervention will transform Synexus into a much-enlarged and stream-lined global business at the point of exit.

• Synexus Web Site