April 3, 2007 — Boston, MA –  Covington Associates LLC announced today that it acted as financial advisor to Alere Medical Incorporated (“Alere”), a leading disease management company in its sale to management and TA Associates (“TA”), a private equity and buyout firm. The transaction is valued at $175 million.

Based in Reno, Nevada, Alere is a provider of comprehensive disease management services, mostly to group plans, for chronic, high-cost diseases including asthma, diabetes and coronary artery disease. The company applies a specialized approach to population management that includes biometric home monitoring, pharmacy benefit management data monitoring, telephonic data collection and coaching, and focused physician communications. Alere covers more than 20 million commercially insured individuals and 2 million Medicare insured individuals in 47 states.

Covington previously advised Alere on two strategic transactions in 2005: the acquisition of the disease management business of National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and the entrance into a long term disease management contract with Pacificare Health Systems (NYSE: PHS). Both transactions were designed to complement Alere’s existing product offerings, and helped to make Alere a “one-stop” solution for its customers.

According to Ron Geraty, CEO of Alere, “TA [Associates] offers not only the financial structure we need but also a management-friendly approach, strategic guidance and a significant network of contacts. We will utilize these resources as we seek to expand our product offering and further grow our customer base.”

Chris Covington, founder of Covington Associates, was quoted as saying, “Alere’s partnership with TA represents a great outcome for the company. TA’s expertise in the healthcare industry will enable Alere’s management team to continue its growth, and become an even bigger player in the competitive disease management landscape.”

About TA Associates
Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced private equity firms. With offices in Boston, London and Menlo Park, the firm manages $10 billion in capital and has invested in more than 370 companies. TA Associates provides management buyout, leveraged recapitalization and growth equity capital primarily for technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer businesses. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

About Alere Medical, Inc. Alere Medical Incorporated is a leader in specialized disease management services focusing on select high-cost diseases to maximize clients’ return on investment. Alere produces unequalled clinical and cost-saving results by precision-targeting patients who will benefit most from specialty interventions. Alere’s integrated care monitoring system identifies and monitors all medium- and high-risk patients, and prioritizes those patients to facilitate efficient workflow. Alere Medical has received NCQA Patient Oriented Full Accreditation for its heart failure disease management program, as well as for its coronary artery disease (CAD) program. The company has also received Patient and Physician Oriented Full Accreditation for its asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) programs powered by National Jewish Research Center (2004-2007). For more information, visit www.alere.com.

About Covington Associates LLC
Covington Associates is a specialty investment banking firm founded in 1991 serving business service, consumer, industrial, healthcare and technology companies throughout the country. Focused on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital raising, debt and equity restructuring, and strategic advisory assignments for middle market companies, Covington Associates has completed transactions ranging in value from $10 million to over $1 billion for both private and publicly traded companies. To learn more about Covington Associates, visit www.covingtonassociates.com.