Novaquest, the venture capital arm of Quintiles, made 16 investments in 2006, double the number of the previous year. Quintiles’ financial help lead to more than $340 million in additional investments for the targeted firms.

Overall, since inception to date, the Quintiles arm says it has shepherded more than $1.6 billion to small biotech firms. In part, that’s because another firm, TPG-Axon, is pitching in. In each case, Quintiles is putting in just $1-5 million. The company’s founder, chairman and CEO, Dennis Gillings, explains Novaquest in this manner:

“NovaQuest’s launch and its alliance with TPG-Axon is confirmation of the power of partnering with Quintiles. Customers can tap into our global development and commercialization infrastructure, deal-making expertise and financial resources to create tailor-made solutions to their most significant strategic and financial challenges.”

Here’s another quote from the news release explaining how Quintiles helps the firms in which it invests:

“All NovaQuest partnerships involve financial support and strategic development or marketing expertise; many also include product development or commercialization services from Quintiles. “

And a third tidbit:

“Three things are driving the active global biotech market that we’re participating in,” said C.G. Chip Gillooly, global vice president of NovaQuest’s eBio unit. “First, biotech’s continued progress in developing promising new medicines. Second, private capital markets continue to value these companies more favorably than the global public equities markets, thereby altering investor exit strategies. Third, the value NovaQuest brings—the experience and intellectual capital necessary to advance experimental programs, non-dilutive financing, alternatives to premature out-licensing and access to Quintiles’ global development and commercialization resources.”