reducing clinic visits and hospital admissions and by controlling or curing disease so that the patient can return to a fully productive life. At the same time as this revolution in the biological sciences is unfolding, exponential increases in the ability to manage, process, and store information at low cost are coming out of the information technology (IT) industry. This rapid technological progress in IT is allowing the creation of entirely new systems and applications that will fundamentally improve how healthcare systems monitor and manage patients across the full range of care settings. The Fund Managers believe the massive expansion and integration of capabilities occurring in biology and information technology is enabling a period of innovation in healthcare that sets a uniquely positive environment for the investment of NLV-IIL. e More Favorable Regulatory Environment For New Drug Approvals: Increasing numbers of FDA drug approvals and recently passed U.S. regulatory legislation are reflective of a more favorable regulatory environment. The number of new drug approvals by FDA in both 2012 (39 NDAs) and 2013 (27 NDAs) trended meaningfully higher compared to the previous 6 years and versus historic averages!. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) was signed into law on July 9, 2012, providing for additional tools to enable the FDA to promote innovation by streamlining parts of the approval process and improving communication and administrative processes between the agency and pharmaceutical and _ biotech companies. Chief among these new tools is the “Breakthrough Therapy” designation. This new designation helps the FDA assist drug developers to expedite the development and review of new drugs with preliminary clinical evidence that indicates the drug may offer a substantial improvement over available therapies for patients with serious or life- threatening diseases. Overall, these initiatives and others, both in the