Rho Ventures: 2004 News

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Archemix Corp. Completes $50 Million Series B Financing

Funding to be Used for Development of Archemix's
Aptamer Therapeutic Programs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,
April 14, 2004

Archemix Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing aptamer therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic human diseases, today announced the closing of $50 million Series B financing led by Highland Capital Partners. The Series B round brings the total amount raised by the Company, since its inception in 2001, to more than $100 million.

In addition to Highland Capital Partners, Archemix received continued strong support from all of its existing investors including Atlas Venture, Prospect Venture Partners, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences, Rho Ventures, Care Capital, MDS Capital, POSCO BioVentures and US Trust Private Equity. In conjunction with the financing, the Company also announced that Corey Mulloy, of Highland Capital Partners will be joining the Archemix Board of Directors.

The funding will be used for the continued clinical development of Archemix's substantial portfolio of aptamer therapeutics. Included in this portfolio are new aptamer therapeutics that address unmet medical needs in cancer, inflammation and cardiovascular indications. Archemix's lead compound, ARC183, being developed for use in cardiac surgery, is scheduled to enter the clinic in the third quarter of 2004.

"We are proud to have attracted this amount of capital from such a distinguished group of investors and believe it demonstrates the potential of our technology to generate new therapeutic products and the strength of our business plan," said Dr. Errol De Souza, President and Chief Executive Officer of Archemix. "We thank our existing shareholders, as well as Highland Capital Partners, for their support."

"Archemix's management and scientific teams are world-class, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them," said Corey Mulloy of Highland. "We believe aptamers have the potential to become a major new class of therapeutics, and the Archemix team is leading this effort with a pipeline filled with promising clinical candidates."

About Archemix
Archemix Corp. is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company's mission is to develop aptamers as a new class of directed therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of chronic and acute disease. Because of their unique properties, aptamers promise to provide a superior alternative to conventional therapeutic approaches and can potentially be used in a wide range of disease areas, including many of those currently addressed by protein-based therapeutics. Archemix's aptamer expertise is complemented by a dominant patent estate comprised of over 170 issued and 170 pending patents covering the identification and use of all new therapeutic aptamers. In addition to the company's core aptamer technology, Archemix possesses strong expertise in both preclinical and clinical drug development. Further information on Archemix can be found at http://www.archemix.com.

About Highland Capital Partners
Highland Capital Partners was founded in 1988 with the mission of helping great people with great ideas build great companies. The firm emphasizes a team-oriented approach in providing the right mix of strategic guidance, hands-on leadership, and deep industry domain expertise for helping entrepreneurs and their teams become market-leading organizations. Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Ask Jeeves, Aspect Medical Systems, Avid Technology, CheckFree, EXACT Sciences, GenVec, Lycos, MapQuest, Mariner Health Group, Mitotix, Ocular Networks, Odyssey Healthcare, PRAECIS PHARMACEUTICALS, Renal Treatment Centers and Sybase. For more information, visit Highland's web site at www.hcp.com.

For more information on Archemix, or to speak with Dr. Errol De Souza, please contact Davia Temin or Jane Trombley of Temin and Company at (212) 588-8788 or info@teminandco.com.