PRESS RELEASE

Piramal Life Sciences Initiates Phase I Trials with a New Molecule for Type II Diabetes in Europe

Mumbai, 13 May  2008: Piramal Life Sciences Limited, part of the Piramal Group of companies, today commenced a Phase I study of a new, orally active glucose-lowering compound, P1736, in The Netherlands.

P1736 is a non-PPAR compound and is being developed for the treatment of Type II diabetes. The compound is significantly different from the currently marketed drugs, as it does not have any adverse side effects on liver function, blood plasma volume expansion or those related to weight gain.

The drug is being tested in a trial that will enroll 72 normal healthy volunteers. The primary objective of the study is to determine the safety and tolerability of P 1736 prior to examining its efficacy in Type 2 diabetes patients.

Piramal Life Sciences had submitted the Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for P1736 to the Central Commission on medical research Involving Human Subjects (CCMO), the regulatory authority of The Netherlands, and the Independent Ethics Committee of the foundation Evaluation of Ethics in Biomedical Research (BEBO), Assen, The Netherlands. Both these bodies have approved the Company’s application to initiate the Phase I study of P1736.

Significantly, an oral presentation of the preclinical data pertaining to this compound will be made at the forthcoming congress of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), to be convened in June this year at San Francisco, California, USA.

Dr. Somesh Sharma, Managing Director, Piramal Life Sciences, stated, “This is our sixth entity to enter the clinic and bears testimony to our efforts to build a diversified and strong pipeline of products to address unmet medical needs.”

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Notes to Editors:

About the Piramal Group
Spanning a broad spectrum of industries and formats, the Piramal Group is committed to achieving excellence and leadership by adhering to ethically sound, innovative and value-driven practices in its diverse, yet focused, business ventures and initiatives. The Group’s turnover exceeded US $ 900 million in FY 2008.

About Piramal Life Sciences Limited
Piramal Life Sciences Limited (“PLSL”) is an independent research driven drug Company that was recently demerged from Nicholas Piramal India Limited (“NPIL”, name proposed to be changed to Piramal Healthcare Limited, subject to shareholders’ and Central Government’s approval). PLSL was formerly the NCE R&D division of NPIL. PLSL has state-of-the-art R&D laboratories built over 200,000 square-feet of space in Mumbai, India and over 300 scientists engaged in drug discovery and development. 

PLSL is focused on four therapeutic areas – Cancer, Diabetes, Inflammation and Infectious Diseases. The Company has a pipeline of fourteen compounds, including four in clinical trials. PLSL’s lead chemical compound, a Cdk-4 inhibitor, has completed two phase 1 studies and is being tested in another Phase I/II trials for Multiple Myeloma. PLSL has drug discovery and developments agreements with Eli Lilly & Company and Merck & Company, two of the leading pharmaceuticals companies in the world.

PLSL is expected to be listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange by June 2008.

For further information, visit www.nicholaspiramal.com