In September 2005, CBPE backed the £22 million management buy-out of IDIS, a market leading importer and distributor of unlicensed pharmaceuticals, on a named patient basis, into the UK and continental European markets. IDIS’s core activity is the sourcing and distribution (with appropriate regulatory approval) of drugs which are currently unlicensed within a domestic territory from an overseas territory where they are licensed. IDIS, in partnership with pharmaceutical companies, provides these services to hospital and retail based pharmacists acting at the request of the prescribing hospital physician.