CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS), the leader in RNA-targeted therapeutics, announced today that Ionis' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stanley T. Crooke, M.D., Ph.D., is one of two scientists to be awarded the 2019 Massry Prize. Dr. Crooke, who founded Ionis 30 years ago to create a radically different drug discovery platform, was recognized by the Massry Foundation for his pioneering work to establish an entirely new chemical class of medicines, antisense oligonucleotides. Ionis' antisense technology has created the life-changing medicines SPINRAZA^®, TEGSEDI^® and WAYLIVRA^® and a pipeline of more than 40 first-in-class or best-in-class therapies focused on rare and common diseases.

"I am deeply honored to accept the Massry Prize. This award is positive affirmation of the perseverance and commitment that we at Ionis have to advancing science and to delivering transformative medicines to the patients who depend on us," said Dr. Crooke.

The Meira and Shaul G. Massry Foundation established the Massry Prize in 1996 to recognize outstanding contributions to the biomedical sciences and the advancement of health. Founded by Dr. Shaul Massry, professor emeritus of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, the nonprofit foundation promotes education and research in nephrology, physiology, and related fields. In addition to a substantial monetary award, prize laureates also participate in the Massry Lectures, held at the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles.

More than a third of Massry Prize recipients (17) have also won the Nobel Prize. The 2019 Massry Prize will be awarded on Saturday, Oct. 26, at a ceremony in the Council Chambers of the City of Beverly Hills in the presence of the mayor of Beverly Hills and the deans of the Schools of Medicine of USC and UCLA.

ABOUT IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

As the leader in RNA-targeted drug discovery and development, Ionis has created an efficient, broadly applicable, drug discovery platform called antisense technology that can treat diseases where no other therapeutic approaches have proven effective. Our drug discovery platform has served as a springboard for actionable promise and realized hope for patients with unmet needs. We created the first and only approved treatment for both children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy as well as the world's first RNA-targeted therapeutic approved for the treatment of polyneuropathy in adults with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis. Our sights are set on all the patients we have yet to reach with a pipeline of more than 40 novel medicines designed to treat a broad range of diseases including cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, infectious diseases, pulmonary diseases and cancer.

To learn more about Ionis visit www.ionispharma.com and follow us on twitter @ionispharma.

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SOURCE Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Investor Contact: D. Wade Walke, Ph.D., Vice President, Investor Relations, 760-603-2741; Ionis Pharmaceuticals Media Contact: Roslyn Patterson, Vice President, Corporate Communications, 760-603-2681