Venture Intelligence, a provider of research and networking services to the private equity and venture capital ecosystem in India, is organizing Life Sciences Connect, a conference on private equity investing in the life sciences sector. The event will be held on August 29, 2006 at the ITC Hotel Kakatiya Sheraton & Towers, in Hyderabad.

The conference is expected to bring a blend of diverse participants- ranging from private equity funds, leading service providers, life sciences companies that have raised or planning to raise Private Equity capital in an interactive panel discussion format.

Confirmed speakers include top executives from APIDC-Ventureast, Barings Private Equity, Evolvence, ICICI Ventures, IFC, IL&FS Investment Managers, Kotak PE and New Vernon PE.

The key themes to be addressed at the event include- Tapping Private Equity (PE) to fund new drug development, opportunities in the CRO space, the payoffs and pitfalls of raising PE financing and the role of mergers and acquisitions in life sciences.

The event is targeted at executives from the private equity industry looking for investment opportunities in the Life Sciences sector and life sciences companies looking to tap private equity capital to expand their businesses.

"The life sciences industry is currently generating enormous interest among private equity firms with many leading investors making significant investment bets on companies in this sector," said Arun Natarajan, founder and CEO of Venture Intelligence.

According to a study by Venture Intelligence, private equity firms invested about $109 million across 10 firms during the six months ended June 2006. This compares to $179 million across 12 companies in 2005.

For details about the event-please email at info@ventureintelligence.in or call +91-44-45534303.