Alder BioPharmaceuticals Licenses Clazakizumab Rights

Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. and Vitaeris Inc. recently announced that Alder has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to clazakizumab to Vitaeris. In exchange for the rights to clazakizumab, Alder has received an equity stake in Vancouver, British Columbia, based Vitaeris and is eligible to receive royalties and certain other payments. In addition, Randall C. Schatzman, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alder, has joined Vitaeris’ board of directors. Specific financial and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Clazakizumab, a monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidate discovered by Alder, is designed to block interleukin-6 (IL-6), which plays a key role in the inflammatory cascade. Clazakizumab has been administered in clinical trials involving over one thousand patients. The therapeutic has not been approved in any indication.

“As a best-in-class anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody, clazakizumab holds significant potential as a treatment for inflammatory diseases, and we will leverage the robust clinical trial data in hand to chart its development path,” said Noel Hall, Co-founder and Chairman of Vitaeris. “The inhibition of IL-6 with clazakizumab is a promising anti-inflammatory mechanism that could result in new therapeutic options. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Randall Schatzman and Dr. Andreas Wicki, Chief Executive Officer of founding investor HBM Healthcare Investments AG, to Vitaeris’ board of directors.”

Dr. Schatzman added, “We are very pleased to continue clazakizumab’s clinical development through the significant expertise represented by Noel Hall as Chairman and HBM Healthcare Investments as a founding investor. The Vitaeris team is motivated to drive the clazakizumab program forward, and Noel’s more than 25 years of successful drug development experience will be extremely valuable as new indications for this antibody are selected and advanced. We believe that combining this team with clazakizumab’s therapeutic potential advances Alder’s goal of leveraging the extensive clinical safety and efficacy data we have generated on clazakizumab for the potential benefit to both patients and our shareholders.”

Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and seeks to commercialize therapeutic antibodies with the potential to meaningfully transform current treatment paradigms. ALD403, Alder’s lead pivotal-stage product candidate being evaluated for migraine prevention, is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody that inhibits calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). CGRP is a small protein with a well-established role in the initiation, transmission, and heightened sensitivity to migraine pain. Alder’s second program, ALD1613, targets adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and is intended for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing’s disease. ALD1613 is undergoing Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling preclinical studies, and an IND submission is planned for 2016. Additionally, clazakizumab, a monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidate discovered by Alder designed to block interleukin-6, is licensed to Vitaeris Inc. For more information, visit www.alderbio.com.

Vitaeris Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, focused on the development of the anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) monoclonal antibody clazakizumab for chronic inflammatory diseases. IL-6 is a key cytokine involved in the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis, and is now being implicated in numerous other diseases characterized by chronic inflammation. Clazakizumab is a best-in-class IL-6 antagonist that has been studied in clinical trials involving over one thousand patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.vitaerisbio.com.