Pequot Ventures Expands Health Care Investment Activities; Enters Strategic Relationship with Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch

Business Wire, July 13, 2004

NEW YORK & GENEVA -- Pequot Capital Management, Inc., a private investment firm, today announced that its direct investment arm, Pequot Ventures, has entered into a strategic relationship with the Swiss private banker Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. Under the terms of this collaboration, Pequot Ventures will assume responsibility for the private equity and venture capital investments made by Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch in the life sciences sector through its LODH Immunology Fund.

"This relationship underscores Pequot Ventures' commitment to growing its health care franchise," said Patrick G. Enright, General Partner of Pequot Ventures. "We look forward to leveraging our ongoing investment activities in health care by working hand-in-hand with one of the premier international investment institutions in the sector, and in particular, one which has such a highly-respected international life sciences network."

"Since the early 1990s, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has been recognized as one of the premier investors in publicly-traded and private companies in the life sciences and biotechnology sector," commented M. Patrick Odier, Managing Partner of Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch. "We are convinced that building on our strong presence in the life sciences by adding the expertise of Pequot Ventures' managers and broadening the investment focus of our LODH Immunology Fund to include non-biotechnology health care companies will result in significant benefits for our clients and our firm's life sciences related products."

Pequot Ventures will assume responsibility for the venture capital and private equity positions in the LODH Immunology Fund by year-end 2004.

Pequot Ventures, the venture capital and private equity investment arm of Pequot Capital, has approximately $1.8 billion in committed capital through its venture and private equity funds. Pequot Ventures actively pursues investment opportunities in health care, software, telecommunications, semiconductors and defense/aerospace. Pequot Capital Management has operations in New York, NY, Westport, CT, Wellesley, MA, Menlo Park, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and San Francisco, CA.

Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch is a leading Swiss private banker with over $100 billion in assets under management and offices in 14 countries. Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has, over a period of 15 years, developed several unique investment products targeting the life sciences industry, including the biotechnology focused LODH Immunology Fund, which was launched in 1995.