Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc. Raises $16M in Series B Financing

Bothell, Washington, July 7, 2006 -- Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc., an emerging antibody therapeutics company, today announced the closing of its Series B financing. H.I.G. Ventures led the $16 million round and was joined by existing investors Sevin Rosen Funds, Ventures West, and WRF Capital. Aaron Davidson, managing director of H.I.G. Ventures, is joining Alder’s board of directors.

“This additional funding represents another vote of confidence in Alder’s proprietary antibody technologies and therapeutic products,” said Dr. Randall Schatzman, Alder's CEO and cofounder. “This will allow us to advance our lead antibody therapeutic through Phase II trials, broaden our product pipeline, and continue to build on our proprietary antibody discovery and manufacturing technologies.”

Alder’s proprietary technologies accelerate the discovery and development of antibody therapeutics that will address significant unmet medical needs. The company’s therapeutic focus is centered in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with extensions into certain forms of cancer.

Alder’s unique contribution to the field involves a platform of proprietary antibody technologies that industrializes the approach to developing, selecting and manufacturing antibody therapeutics. Alder’s technologies dramatically accelerate progress to the clinic while at the same time providing an inexpensive and rapid route through product manufacturing.

“Our technologies significantly change the way companies discover and manufacture biotherapeutics,” said Schatzman. “We can shorten development cycles from years to months, allowing ourselves and our partners to develop novel antibody-based therapies faster and get them to the clinic and to patients sooner than has been done previously. Overall, we can significantly reduce costs of therapy at a time when the healthcare industry as a whole is under continued pressure to reduce prescription drug costs.”

H.I.G. Venture’s Aaron Davidson added, "The team and technology at Alder have true potential to change the game in antibody therapeutics development. The diversity and richness of their lead program candidate library, which they generated in weeks rather than months, validates the potential of their proprietary discovery engine. Combine that engine with their unique manufacturing technology, and there’s a much higher probability that highly optimized antibody therapeutics can be produced in a fraction of the normal time and cost."

For more information or to set up a non-disclosure agreement to learn about Alder’s proprietary technologies in more detail, please contact Mark Litton, Chief Business Officer, at 425.205.2920 or litton@alderbio.com.


About Alder
Founded in January 2004, Alder Biopharmaceuticals uniquely identifies, develops, and manufactures novel antibody therapeutics to alleviate human suffering in the autoimmune and inflammatory disease areas. Alder’s management team combines decades of industry experience with a proven track record for identifying and developing novel antibody therapeutics. The company acquired early funding from the United States Army in June of 2004 to explore the development of new production technologies for humanized antibodies. That early success was followed by seed funding from WRF Capital and other private investors in the Fall of 2004, and Series A financing led by Sevin Rosen Funds and other investors in the Summer of 2005. Today the company is actively engaged in developing its own proprietary therapeutics and enabling partners through out-licensing of its technologies. For more information, visit www.alderbio.com.

About H.I.G. Ventures
H.I.G. Ventures is a leading private equity and venture capital investment firm with more than $1.5 billion of equity capital under management. From offices in Miami, Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco, H.I.G. Ventures specializes in providing capital to promising early stage technology and healthcare companies. H.I.G. Ventures aligns with management teams and entrepreneurs who take substantial equity positions in their companies, and helps build businesses of significant value over time. The company brings substantial operating, consulting, technology and financial management experience to its portfolio companies. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. Ventures has been an active investor, acquiring more than forty businesses while providing growth capital to a long list of promising early stage technology companies. For more information, visit www.higventures.com.

About Sevin Rosen Funds
Sevin Rosen Funds is a top-tier venture capital firm with a track record of funding successful companies since 1981. The partnership has consistently made early-stage investments in pioneering technologies and companies with the potential to create new markets. The partners' broad range of venture and operating experiences in successful technology companies translates into a sustained commitment and contribution to the development of the ventures funded. Compaq, Lotus, Cypress, Cytokinetics, ArQule, SGI, Citrix and ViroPharma are representative of some of the firm's successful IPOs. The firm has offices in Dallas, Palo Alto, Austin, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.srfunds.com.

About Ventures West
Ventures West Capital Ltd., a private venture capital investment group, is one of Canada’s leading investors in early stage technology companies. Since its founding in 1968, Ventures West has formed eight venture capital funds which total over $700 million and has invested in more than 130 companies. Ventures West has the people, the expertise, and the capital to help entrepreneurs develop emerging technology companies into market leaders. The company’s biotechnology portfolio includes Caprion Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc., Novadaq Technologies Inc. and Oncogenex Technologies Inc. For more information, visit www.ventureswest.com.

About WRF Capital
WRF Capital is the venture investment arm of the Washington Research Foundation, an independent organization founded in 1981 to support research and scholarship at Washington state research institutions. A leading early-stage investor, WRF Capital partners with entrepreneurs, local universities, and research insitutions to develop
leading technology companies. Examples of WRF Capital's life science companies include Amnis, Corus Pharma, Ekos, Ikaria, Therus, Lumera, Teranode, and Vanson Halosource. For more information, visit www.wrfcapital.com.


Media and Industry Inquiries:
Mark Litton, Ph.D.
Chief Business Officer, Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
425.205.2920
litton@alderbio.com

Investor Relations:
Randall Schatzman, Ph.D.
CEO, Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
425.205.2910
schatzman@alderbio.com