Orchid Biotech Company is evaluating several different development projects for experimental drugs. Although the cash flows are difficult to forecast, the company has come up with the following estimates of the initial capital requirements and NPVs for the projects. Given a wide variety of staffing needs, the company has also estimated the number of research scientists required for each development project (all cost values are given in millions of dollars).

a. Suppose that Orchid has a total capital budget of $ 60 million. How should it prioritize these projects? Find the profitability index for each project.

b. Suppose that Orchid currently has 12 research scientists and does not anticipate being able to hire more in the near future. How should Orchid prioritize these projects? Find the NPV/headcount ratio for each of the projects (Formula: NPV/Headcount ratio= NPV for the Project/ # of scientists needed for the project).

Project Number Initial Capital Number of Research Scientists NPV ($) - = 10.1 19.0 22.0 25.0 60.2