RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, August 27 /PRNewswire/ --

NovaQuest has made a strategic investment in TOPIGEN Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in respiratory
disorders. The investment was part of a private placement of C$26 million
(US$25 million) in the Montreal-based company.

Last week's The investment by NovaQuest, the strategic partnering group
of Quintiles Transnational, helps TOPIGEN accelerate its Phase II
lead-product clinical programs. NovaQuest and Quintiles first provided
strategic product development advice to TOPIGEN three years ago; the
relationship has since evolved into an integrated development partnership.

Patricia Lamothe, TOPIGEN's Chief Financial Officer, said: "The ability
to access NovaQuest's clinical expertise and Quintiles' development
capabilities is a tremendous benefit to our company as we continue to advance
our product candidates for significant breakthroughs in the treatment of
respiratory diseases."

NovaQuest Vice President Ben Cons, Ph.D., said: "Having been very active
in 2006, with 16 strategic investments, our focus now is to create fewer but
larger partnerships. We're seeking high potential biotechs -- those with
excellent pipelines and strong management teams. Our managed partnership with
TOPIGEN is an example of this.

"We believe that NovaQuest's strong clinical experience and intellectual
capital, backed by Quintiles' global development resources, is a great fit to
help TOPIGEN advance its clinical candidates efficiently and strategically."

In November NovaQuest made a strategic investment in Canadian biotech
company BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS), a leading developer in the treatment
of multiple sclerosis. For all of 2006, NovaQuest participated as a minority
investor in funding rounds that raised a total of $342 million for 16
emerging biotechnology companies worldwide.

NovaQuest, the strategic partnering group of Quintiles Transnational, is
an industry pioneer in offering tailored financial and operational solutions
that help pharmaceutical and biotech companies overcome development and
commercialization challenges, including leveraging "virtual clinical
development" models. Its unique managed-partnership approach ensures
sponsorship by senior-level executives; access to global development and
commercial resources and expertise; and efficient operational delivery of
services. Since 2000, NovaQuest partnerships have committed more than $2
billion in capital to pharmaceutical and biotech companies of all sizes. For
more information, please visit http://www.novaquest.com.

Quintiles Transnational Corp. is powering the next generation of
healthcare by providing a broad range of professional services in drug
development, financial partnering and commercialization for the
pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. With 19,000
employees and offices in more than 50 countries, it is focused on providing
customer-centric solutions that are the gold standard of the industry. For
more information, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.qtrn.com.

Web site: http://www.qtrn.com 
              http://www.novaquest.com