Exicure's CEO David Giljohann Honored in Crain's 40 Under 40 Class of 2019

Exicure, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCUR), a pioneer in gene regulatory and immunotherapeutic drugs utilizing spherical nucleic acid (SNAtm) technology, today announced that David Giljohann, chief executive officer Exicure, Inc. (Nasdaq: XCUR), has been named to Crain's Chicago Business magazine's 2019 Class of "40 Under 40."

Crain's "40 Under 40" recognizes individuals who are reinventing what it means to do business in Chicago through financial impact and community leadership. Dr. Giljohann, along with the other honorees, will be profiled in the November 18 issues of Crain's Chicago Business.

"It is truly an honor to be recognized for my work at Exicure, which has always been driven by my personal goal of positively impacting patients by creating revolutionary new medicines," says Giljohann. "I am thankful for the support and dedication of the entire Exicure team that is working tirelessly on our programs to address unmet medical needs in genetic disorders, inflammatory disease and oncology."

Dr. Giljohann has served as Chief Executive Officer of Exicure since November 2013, after starting out as the company's founding scientist in 2011. He completed his Ph.D. in 2009 in the laboratory of Dr. Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University where he developed oligonucleotide-modified nanoparticles, including Exicure's Spherical Nucleic Acid (SNAtm) constructs. Dr. Giljohann has been on the Company's Board of Directors since March 2014.

Dr. Giljohann's work has been recognized with a Materials Research Society Gold Award, Baxter Innovation Award, Rappaport Award for Research Excellence, NSEC Outstanding Research Award, and as a finalist in the National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Inventors Competition. Additionally, Dr. Giljohann has contributed to over 100 patents and applications.

About Exicure, Inc.

Exicure, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for immuno-oncology, inflammatory diseases and genetic disorders based on our proprietary Spherical Nucleic Acid, or SNA technology. Exicure believes that its proprietary SNA architecture has distinct chemical and biological properties that may provide advantages over other nucleic acid therapeutics and may have therapeutic potential to target diseases not typically addressed with other nucleic acid therapeutics. Exicure's lead program is in a Phase 1b/2 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors. Exicure is based outside of Chicago, IL and in Cambridge, MA. www.exicuretx.com