CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IONS), the leader in RNA-targeted
therapeutics, announced today that its founder and executive
chairman Stanley T. Crooke, M.D.,
Ph.D., will retire from Ionis and its board of directors effective
June 2021. Dr. Crooke is stepping
down so that he may focus on his scientific interests and the
nonprofit organization he founded, the n-Lorem Foundation. Dr.
Crooke will continue to serve as a scientific advisor to Ionis
including providing advice regarding Ionis' research and
development programs and guiding the core antisense research group
he founded at Ionis.
Dr. Crooke founded Ionis more than 30 years ago and is credited
with being the pioneer of RNA-targeted therapeutics. Under his
leadership, Ionis developed its novel antisense technology and
created one of the largest, most advanced pipelines in the
industry. He has personally led the development of more than 20
marketed drugs throughout his career and supported the creation and
growth of several companies based on Ionis' antisense technology.
In addition, Dr. Crooke is responsible for creating one of the most
innovative and scientifically driven cultures that has an
unwavering passion for discovering and developing future-creating
therapies and a steadfast commitment to saying yes to the patients
who are depending on them.
"The brilliance of Stan's vision isn't just represented by the
founding and success of Ionis, but it is also reflected in his
creation of an entirely new chemical class of medicines, antisense
oligonucleotides," said Joseph
Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D., head, Department of Medicine and
Physician-in-Chief, Brigham & Woman's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Ionis board member. "His
scientific contributions will no doubt continue to provide
extraordinary benefit to the healthcare industry and the many
patients who once were told there isn't any hope or treatment for
their disease. With Stan solely focusing on his scientific
interests and n-Lorem, we can only expect his impact to
continue."
Dr. Crooke has received numerous honors and awards for his
pioneering work in RNA-targeted therapeutics including the
prestigious Massry Prize, the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society
Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Chemical Society's E.B.
Hershberg Award for Important Discoveries in Medicinally Active
Substances, the Prix Galien Best Biotechnology Award for Spinraza,
the Scrip Lifetime Achievement Award, and BIO's Helix Award for the
most important innovation. In addition, Ionis' board of directors
named the main headquarters building in honor of Dr. Crooke in 2019
to recognize his extraordinary role in creating Ionis. Dr. Crooke
has published nearly 600 scientific publications, edited more than
20 books, and is a named inventor on numerous patents.
"Thanks to Stan's vision and perseverance, thousands of patients
are benefiting from the transformative and life-changing antisense
medicines discovered and developed by Ionis," said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., Ionis chief executive
officer. "We are pleased that Stan will continue to provide advice
and counsel to Ionis and applaud his efforts to use the technology
that was created at Ionis to bring hope and therapies to the
patients who will benefit greatly from the n-Lorem foundation."
n-Lorem Foundation, founded in 2019 by Dr. Crooke and initially
funded by him, his wife Dr. Rosanne
Crooke, Ionis and Biogen, provides free individualized
antisense treatments to patients living with ultra-rare diseases (1
to 30 patients worldwide) for life. In less than a year of its
founding, the Foundation has garnered support from global partners
such as the Korean Institute of Toxicology, many donors, has
received more than 40 requests for treatment and has 10 patients
being treated or about to be treated with an investigational
antisense medicine that was designed for each one's specific
genetic mutation that's causing their disease.
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 all patients, 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 potentially
treat a broad range of disease, including neurological,
cardio-renal, metabolic, infectious, and pulmonary diseases.
To learn more about Ionis visit www.ionispharma.com and
follow us on Twitter @ionispharma.
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SOURCE Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.