The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager, and Bourne Partners, a financial services firm focused in healthcare, along with pharma veterans Dr. John King, Roger Boissonneault and Geoffrey Elliot, have jointly launched Millicent Pharma. Millicent Pharma, the culmination of Phoenix Therapeutics-the global pharmaceutical platform created by Carlyle and Bourne in 2015-seeks to build a global end-to-end pharmaceutical company through acquisition and the development of acquired pharmaceutical products. Femring, a vaginal ring treatment for menopausal women, was acquired from Allergan and serves as the first acquisition by Millicent Pharma.

Founder and chief executive officer of Bourne Partners, Banks Bourne, said, “When we formed our Phoenix partnership with Carlyle we knew we would be able to source a compelling team and other partnerships. Our 20-plus year relationship with John and Roger represented an outstanding opportunity for Phoenix. We couldn’t think of a better team to fulfill Phoenix’s mission and strategy.”

Dr. King will serve as chairman of Millicent Pharma, Mr. Boissonneault as chief executive officer and Mr. Elliott as chief financial officer. Prior to Millicent Pharma, Dr. King, Mr. Boissonneault and Mr. Elliott took Warner Chilcott private in 2005 and then took it public again in 2006, leading to its subsequent sale to Actavis in 2013 for $9 billion. WCRX was a global pharmaceutical company specializing in women’s health, gastroenterology, urology, and dermatology. At Warner Chilcott and its predecessor companies, Dr. King served as non-executive chairman, executive chairman, and chief executive officer, Mr. Boissonneault as chief executive officer, and Mr. Elliott as chief financial officer. Several former Warner Chilcott senior executives who have track records in the pharmaceutical industry are also joining the Millicent Pharma leadership team. Bourne Partners Strategic Capital and Carlyle are investors in Millicent.