OREANDA-NEWS. January 12, 2016. Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) announced today that it has formed a joint venture with Bourne Partners, a healthcare-focused investor, operator and investment banking firm, to build a global pharmaceutical platform. This new venture, known as Phoenix Therapeutics, will be owned by Carlyle Partners VI, a \\$13 billion U.S. buyout fund, with a minority investment from Bourne Partners. Leveraging the financial resources and experience of Carlyle and Bourne, Phoenix Therapeutics will look to operate a pharmaceutical platform built through acquisitions. Phoenix Therapeutics will consider a range of acquisitions, including product and asset acquisitions, corporate acquisitions and carve-outs.

"Carlyle has a long-standing relationship with Bourne Partners," said Stephen Wise, Managing Director and Head of Global Healthcare for The Carlyle Group. "Bourne Partners has deep relationships and significant transaction experience across the pharma industry. Formalizing the relationship with Bourne is a reflection of our belief that our venture can add significant value in the space, as well as our positive outlook for investing capital in the pharmaceutical industry going forward."

"We have invested in funds managed by The Carlyle Group for many years and have developed close relationships across the firm," said Bourne's Founder and CEO, Banks Bourne. "Stephen Wise and his healthcare investment team have a record of building strong companies using Carlyle's global relationships and focus on strategic value-add. With us they now have an additional resource with proven operational and transaction experience in the pharma industry."

Bourne Partners has invested in, built and advised numerous specialty pharmaceutical companies over the last decade. As both advisors, investors and operators, Bourne has been involved with transactions ranging from \\$10 million to more than \\$3 billion, most recently contributing to the growth and successful exit of Covis Pharma Sarl, which Bourne co-founded with the original management team.

The Carlyle Group has a long history of success in the healthcare space. The Healthcare Group's most recent US healthcare investments include Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPD), the second largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world, and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a global provider of solutions for screening, diagnosing, monitoring and confirming diseases. Additionally, the team has also made several international healthcare investments, including Healthscope, the second largest private hospital operator in Australia, and its most recent investment in Rede D'Or Sao Luiz, the largest private hospital operator in Brazil.