Isis Pharmaceuticals' Stanley Crooke Awarded Corporate Forum's Director of the Year

CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley T. Crooke, Ph.D., M.D., founder, CEO and chairman of the board of directors of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISIS), has been awarded the 2013 Director of the Year Award for Companies in Transition.  Each year the Corporate Directors Forum, a non-profit organization that promotes high standards of professionalism in corporate governance, recognizes directors for their high standards in corporate governance.  Dr. Crooke is being honored for his positive contributions on the board of directors for Isis Pharmaceuticals, a leading company in the discovery and development of antisense therapeutics. 

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"I believe that this is a very fitting award for Stan, who brings a wealth of drug development expertise and scientific acumen to the Isis board of directors.  His unwavering commitment to antisense technology has sustained and recently propelled Isis forward from a research-stage biotechnology company to a mid-sized company with commercial revenue on the horizon," said Frederick T. Muto, Esq., partner at Cooley LLP and member of Isis' board of directors.  "2013 has been a year of transition for Isis with the marketing approval of KYNAMRO™ for the treatment of patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.  KYNAMRO is the first systemically delivered antisense drug to be approved for a chronic disease.  KYNAMRO's approval provides compelling evidence of the power of Isis' drug discovery technology to create potent and specific drugs that could play an important role in the treatment of disease."

The Director of the Year Companies in Transition award is given to the director who has positively contributed to taking the company through changes, including transitions that significantly increased value of the company.  During the last year, Isis has experienced substantial growth in all areas of its business, including the approval of KYNAMRO, advancement of its product pipeline with positive clinical data in multiple programs, and completion of several successful partnerships that should accelerate discovery and development of drugs to improve the lives of patients and significantly improve the Company's already strong financial position.   More information on the award, the 2013 honorees and the Corporate Directors Forum is available at www.directorsforum.com.

ABOUT ISIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Isis is exploiting its leadership position in antisense technology to discover and develop novel drugs for its product pipeline and for its partners.  Isis' broad pipeline consists of 30 drugs to treat a wide variety of diseases with an emphasis on cardiovascular, metabolic, severe and rare diseases, including neurological disorders, and cancer.  Isis' partner, Genzyme, is commercializing Isis' lead product, KYNAMRO™, in the United States for the treatment of patients with HoFH.  Isis' patents provide strong and extensive protection for its drugs and technology.  Additional information about Isis is available at www.isispharm.com.

ISIS PHARMACEUTICALS' FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Isis Pharmaceuticals' business, the therapeutic and commercial potential of Isis' technologies and products in development, Isis' financial position and the commercial potential of KYNAMRO.  Any statement describing Isis' 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.  Isis' 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 Isis' forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Isis.  As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements.  These and other risks concerning Isis' programs are described in additional detail in Isis' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, and its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which are on file with the SEC. Copies of these and other documents are available from the Company.

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

Isis Pharmaceuticals® is a registered trademark of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  KYNAMRO™ is a trademark of Genzyme Corporation.

SOURCE Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.