Alder BioPharmaceuticals® Appoints Eric Carter, Ph.D., M.D., as Interim Chief Medical Officer

BOTHELL, Wash., April 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., (NASDAQ:ALDR), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of migraine, today announced that Eric Carter, Ph.D., M.D., has been named Interim Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately. His primary responsibilities will include leading the Company through its ongoing Biologics License Application (BLA) submission process for eptinezumab, Alder’s lead investigational product candidate for migraine prevention, and facilitating other clinical and commercial advancement activities. He will report to Paul B. Cleveland, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Carter has served as a consultant to the Company since March 2018.

Dr. Carter served as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of Clinical & Non-Clinical Development of Allergan Inc. from 2011 to 2015, where he led the organization through 11 domestic and international drug candidate approvals and managed an annual budget of approximately $700 million. With more than 20 years of experience as a physician and as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Carter has overseen the introduction of new drug candidates into clinical development and practice, managed complex processes and global teams and provided support around key commercialization activities for numerous organizations. Dr. Carter currently serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Bioniz Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and serves on the Board of Directors of Adverum Biotechnologies, a public gene therapy company focused on rare diseases. Dr. Carter received his M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.

“Our planned BLA submission for eptinezumab remains our top priority, and we are pleased to welcome Eric to the team as we advance towards commercialization,” said Paul B. Cleveland. “Eric has a proven record of success with the clinical development and approval of major drug candidates, and we are confident Alder will benefit from his expertise and leadership during this important time.”   

“I’m excited to join Alder and lead eptinezumab’s clinical development program in support of the Company’s planned BLA submission,” said Dr. Carter. “I look forward to working closely with the Alder team and the physician community as we progress eptinezumab towards approval, with an opportunity to provide a treatment option for millions of migraine sufferers debilitated by their disease.” 

About Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.
Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to transforming the treatment paradigm for patients with migraine and other serious neurological or inflammatory conditions. Leveraging its pioneering monoclonal antibody technologies, Alder discovers and develops novel therapeutic antibodies designed to deliver highly differentiated, best-in-class clinical profiles. Alder's lead pivotal-stage product candidate, eptinezumab, is being evaluated as potentially the first-to-market migraine prevention infusion therapy. Eptinezumab is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) inhibiting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is believed to play a key role in mediating and initiating migraine. Alder is additionally evaluating ALD1910, a preclinical product candidate also in development as a migraine prevention therapy. ALD1910 is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP-38), another protein that is active in mediating the initiation of migraine. Clazakizumab, Alder's third program, is a monoclonal antibody candidate that inhibits interleukin-6 and is licensed to Vitaeris, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.alderbio.com. 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to: the continued development and clinical, therapeutic and commercial potential of eptinezumab; the planned BLA submission and the potential regulatory approval of eptinezumab; the belief that eptinezumab has the potential to be a meaningful treatment option; and the anticipated commercialization of eptinezumab; Words such as “will,” “planned,” “priority,” “advance,” “confident,” “support,” “look forward,” “progress,” “opportunity,” “option,” “potential,” or other similar expressions, identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon Alder's current plans, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections, and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements due to these risks and uncertainties as well as other factors, which include, without limitation: risks related to the potential failure of eptinezumab to demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical testing; Alder's ability to conduct clinical trials and studies of eptinezumab sufficient to achieve a positive completion; the availability of data at the expected times; the clinical, therapeutic and commercial value of eptinezumab; risks and uncertainties related to regulatory application, review and approval processes and Alder's compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements; risks and uncertainties relating to the manufacture of eptinezumab; Alder's ability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights, and operate without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others; the uncertain timing and level of expenses associated with Alder's development and commercialization activities; the sufficiency of Alder's capital and other resources; market competition; changes in economic and business conditions; and other factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Alder's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 26, 2018, and is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in Alder's other reports and filings it will make with the SEC from time to time. The forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Alder expressly disclaims any duty, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Alder's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.