Ionis Pharmaceuticals Provides Corporate Update at 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

CARLSBAD, Calif., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IONS) today announced that management will present a general corporate update in conjunction with its 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Open House on Wednesday, May 23 at 2:10 p.m. Pacific Time (5:10 p.m. Eastern Time) in Carlsbad, CA.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• 2:00 p.m. ? 2:10 p.m. PT ? Annual Meeting of Stockholders (for stockholders of record as of March 26, 2018)
• 2:10 p.m. ? 3:00 p.m. PT ? Corporate Presentation by Stanley T. Crooke, M.D., Ph.D., Ionis' chairman and chief executive officer
• 3:00 p.m. ? 5:00 p.m. PT ? Meet and Mingle Session and Open House

A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available on the "Investors & Media" section of the Company's website, www.ionispharma.com. A replay of the presentation will be available on the website within 48 hours and will be archived for a limited time.

If you plan to attend the meeting, please RSVP by visiting the "Investors & Media" page at www.ionispharma.com.

ABOUT IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Ionis is the leading company in RNA-targeted drug discovery and development focused on developing drugs for patients who have the highest unmet medical needs, such as those patients with severe and rare diseases. Using its proprietary antisense technology, Ionis has created a large pipeline of first-in-class or best-in-class drugs, with over three dozen drugs in development. SPINRAZA^® (nusinersen) has been approved in global markets for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Biogen is responsible for commercializing SPINRAZA. Drugs that have successfully completed Phase 3 studies include inotersen, an antisense drug Ionis is developing to treat patients with hereditary ATTR (hATTR) amyloidosis, and volanesorsen, an antisense drug discovered by Ionis and co-developed by Ionis and Akcea Therapeutics to treat patients with either familial chylomicronemia syndrome or familial partial lipodystrophy. Akcea, an affiliate of Ionis, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat patients with serious rare diseases. If approved, inotersen and volanesorsen will be commercialized through Ionis' affiliate, Akcea. Inotersen is under regulatory review in the U.S. and EU. Volanesorsen is under regulatory review in the U.S., EU, and Canada. Ionis' patents provide strong and extensive protection for its drugs and technology. Additional information about Ionis is available at www.ionispharma.com.

IONIS' FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding the therapeutic and commercial potential of Ionis' technologies and products in development, including SPINRAZA, inotersen and volanesorsen. Any statement describing Ionis' goals, expectations, financial or other projections, intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, particularly those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such drugs. Ionis' forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Ionis' forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Ionis. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Ionis' programs are described in additional detail in Ionis' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which is on file with the SEC. Copies of this and other documents are available from the Company.

In this press release, unless the context requires otherwise, "Ionis," "Company," "we," "our," and "us" refers to Ionis Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries.

Ionis Pharmaceuticalstm is a trademark of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Akcea Therapeuticstm is a trademark of Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. SPINRAZA^® is a registered trademark of Biogen.

SOURCE Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.