Alder Biopharmaceuticals Appoints Dr. Mark D. Young Senior VP Pharmaceutical Operations.

BOTHELL, Wash. -- Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging antibody therapeutics company, today announced the appointment of Mark D. Young, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations.

A veteran biotechnology industry executive, Young brings more than 30 years experience in the process development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals produced from yeast, bacterial and mammalian cells. This includes expertise in engineering, technology transfer, manufacturing and clinical development at a number of prominent biotechnology companies including Zymogenetics, Biomira (now Oncothyreon), Protein Design Labs and Synergen (acquired by Amgen).

"Mark's breadth of bioprocessing experience and leadership will be instrumental to Alder in the continued application of our high throughput antibody selection and yeast production systems to streamline the identification and production of best-in-class biotherapeutics," said Randall Schatzman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alder. "With our recent success of ALD518 in Phase 2 trials for treatment of RA, Mark's late-stage manufacturing experience will be key as we gear up to initiate Phase 3 trials and plan for commercial manufacturing."

Young joins Alder after most recently serving as a bioprocess consultant, providing technical and strategic consulting on issues of bioprocess development and manufacturing for a variety of biopharmaceutical clients. Prior to that, Young served as Senior Vice President, Technical Operations for Zymogenetics from 2001 to 2006. At Zymogenetics, Young was responsible for process development, analytical development, formulation development and stability, manufacturing, and quality functions. During his tenure, Young and his group successfully filed chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) sections of investigational new drug applications for three products, managed outsourcing for these products and established in-house clinical manufacturing capabilities.

Young received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from The University of Michigan, an M.S. in chemical engineering from Columbia University and a B.S. in chemical engineering from The University of Nebraska.

"Alder's innovative technology provides an opportunity to reduce development cycles and provide companies with cost-effective product manufacturing," said Young. "I am pleased to join the company at this exciting time and look forward to contributing to deepening Alder's extensive pipeline of antibody therapeutics."

About Alder Biopharmaceuticals

Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. 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. Today the company is actively engaged in developing its own proprietary therapeutics and enabling partners through the out-licensing of its technologies. Current partners include Schering-Plough, Seattle Genetics, Genmab, and two non-disclosed large pharmaceutical companies. For more information, visit www.alderbio.com.