February 2011/3

AN AFFILIATE OF SUN EUROPEAN PARTNERS, LLP COMPLETES THE ACQUISITION OF NEXTPHARMA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING LTD, THE GLOBAL PHARMACEUTICAL OUTSOURCING PARTNER


17 February 2011


LONDON, UK Sun European Partners, LLP (“Sun European Partners”), the
European adviser to Sun Capital Partners, Inc., announces that one of its affiliates
has completed the acquisition of NextPharma Technologies Holding Ltd.
(“NextPharma”), a global provider of contract manufacturing, product development,
clinical trials and logistics services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Surrey, UK, NextPharma offers a range of services spanning the entire drug development, manufacturing and distribution supply chain. The company is a leading outsourcing partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare industries with seven manufacturing facilities, seven product development centres and six temperature-controlled storage and distribution sites across Europe and the U.S.. NextPharma supports more than 200 customers including leading blue chip pharmaceutical and biotech companies.


Bill Wedlake, CEO of NextPharma commented: “The integrated outsourcing model
offered by NextPharma helps improve client profitability by reducing both the cost
and time to market of the product. This service increases client margins by reducing the number of supply chain providers and freeing up client resource to concentrate on their own key strategic strengths of research and marketing. We look forward to working with Sun European Partners to continue to grow the company and to expand into innovative new technologies and markets.”


Matthias Gundlach, Vice President of Sun European Partners said: “We are delighted by this acquisition. NextPharma is well positioned to benefit from the changing face of the drug industry, in particular using drug development and manufacturing outsourcing. It provides a good foundation from which to build the business organically and by acquisitions.”


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About Sun European Partners, LLP


Sun European Partners, LLP is the European adviser to Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading U.S.-based private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity,
debt, and other investments in market-leading companies that can benefit from its inhouse operating professionals and experience. Affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. have invested in 260 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $40 billion since the inception of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. in the U.S. in 1995. Sun Capital Partners, Inc. has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as affiliates with offices in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Luxembourg, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

For more information, please visit www.SunEuropeanPartners.com.
Maitland +44(0)20 7379 5151
Anthony Silverman

Rowan Brown

Contact NextPharma

Franck Latrille    
Chief Executive Officer  
NextPharma Technologies Holding Limited
Tel +44 (0) 1483 479 120

Notes to Editors:

About NextPharma

NextPharma Technologies, headquartered in the UK and founded in 2000, is a world class outsourcing partner to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

We offer a full range of services from early phase product development, through clinical trial packaging (Phases I through III) to high volume commercial manufacturing. We are a world leader in lyophilization, sterile fill finish and pellet technologies and in specialist product manufacturing including cytotoxics, hormones, penicillins, cephalosporins and controlled drugs. Our sterile development and production offers a full range of drug delivery technologies including pre-filled syringes, vials and ampoules. Additionally we have significant expertise in paediatric drug formulation, development and manufacture.

We operate globally with seven product development centres, seven manufacturing plants and six temperature controlled storage and distribution sites across Europe and North America, supplying customers in North America, Europe and Japan.

We have 1,200 employees dedicated to serving over 200 customers world wide and a customer base, which includes many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, specialty pharma and biotech companies.

We have a proven track record in almost all pharmaceutical technologies and product forms and in addition to the specialist areas above have capabilities in solids, semi-solids, liquids, sprays and dry dosage form technologies.

All of our sites are either FDA inspected, in the process of upgrade for inspection or targeted for upgrade for inspection.