Beijing, China · April 18, 2017 – Suzhou Ribo Life Science Co. Ltd., announced today a partnership with the global oligonucleotide pharmaceutical giant Ionis Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq code: IONS). Furthermore, it signed cooperation and licensing agreements to work together to promote the R&D and commercialization of oligonucleotide pharmaceuticals (or RNA-targeted drugs) in China.

Through this cooperation, Ribo will acquire full rights to develop and commercialize Ionis' three drug classes for the treatment of metabolic diseases and cancer, respectively, in China. In addition to the three drug varieties, Ribo will also obtain the right to use Ionis's ssRNAi technology platform for research and new drug development. The cooperation between Ribo and Ionis has further enriched the pipeline of ongoing products of Ribo and will significantly promote the R&D process of oligonucleotide pharmaceuticals in China.

"Oligonucleotide pharmaceuticals have entered a period of rapid development, and we expect that such pharmaceuticals will bring good news to many patients with currently incurable diseases in the future, and will form the third wave of modern pharmaceutical development after small molecule and antibody drugs. Thanks to industrial pioneers like Ionis, it is they that have led this wave in the past three decades. As a pioneer in this field in China, we are very pleased to work with global oligonucleotide pharmaceutical giants such as Ionis to focus on the development of RNA-targeted drugs to meet the clinical needs of Chinese patients." Professor Liang Zicai, founder and chairman of Ribo, said, "RNAi channels are shown to also be catalytically activated with chemically modified single-stranded oligonucleotides, and Ionis has made a major breakthrough in the study of this ssRNAi technology. We believe that the work of both sides will spawn another strong new drug discovery platform. We are excited to work with Ionis to open up this promising technology."

"China's demand for innovative drugs is growing rapidly, especially for metabolic diseases and certain genetically defined cancers," said Dr. Brett Monia, Senior Vice President of Ionis. "For us, Ribo is a perfect Chinese partner. Ribo has made outstanding achievements in the field of oligonucleotide pharmaceuticals. Through our collaboration, we will also benefit from Ribo's excellent drug development and registration application capabilities. By using the collection of clinical data in China, we believe that the cooperation with Ribo will maximize the value of the drug and provide strong support for the global R&D plan of each drug variety."

About Ionis

Ionis is a global leader in the development and research of RNA-targeted drugs (ASOs), focusing on developing drugs for populations with incurable diseases, such as patients with severe and rare diseases. Based on its proprietary antisense technology, Ionis has established a rich R&D pipeline of first-in-class and optimal drugs, containing more than thirty varieties under development. Its drug SPINRAZA? (nusinersen) is marketed in the United States to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in children and adults. At present, volanesorsen, one of the phase III varieties of Ionis, will be used to treat familial chylomicronemia syndrome or familial partial lipodystrophy. Based on self-development, Ionis also plans to submit its commercial development to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Akcea Therapeutics. Another phase III variety IONIS-TTRR is jointly developed by Ionis and GSK to treat TTR amyloid lesions. Ionis' patents provide strong protection on its varieties and technologies. For more information, please refer to www.ionispharma.com.