Ionis announces appointment of Ludwig Hantson, Ph.D. to Board of Directors

Dr. Hantson brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors at Alexion, before the company was acquired by AstraZeneca.

During his time at Alexion, Dr. Hantson helped reshape the company's strategy, improve its operating model, and strengthen overall business performance and execution.

Before joining Alexion, Dr. Hantson was President of Baxter Bioscience and later led the spin-off of Baxalta, where he served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Earlier in his career, he held several senior leadership positions at Novartis in North America and Europe, including CEO of North America, and spent 13 years at Johnson & Johnson in roles with increasing responsibility.

In addition to serving on the boards of Alexion and Baxalta, Dr. Hantson was also a director at Hologic, a medical technology company. He earned a master's degree in physical education and a Ph.D. in motor rehabilitation and physical therapy from the University of Louvain in Belgium.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Hantson to the board,” said Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Ionis Board of Directors. “Ludwig’s biopharma executive leadership experience will be especially meaningful as Ionis prepares for a steady cadence of new commercial launches, including two additional independent launches this year, while continuing to scale its operations as a fully integrated biotechnology company.”

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“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Hantson to the board as he brings a wealth of strategic and operational expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Ionis. “His experience leading complex global organizations across rare and specialty diseases will be invaluable as Ionis advances our commercial medicines and innovative pipeline and enters a period of accelerated growth and value creation.”

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Founded in 1989, Ionis Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative medicines for serious diseases. The company has approved products and a strong pipeline targeting neurological and cardiometabolic conditions, as well as other areas with significant unmet medical needs. As a pioneer in RNA-based therapies, Ionis continues to advance RNA medicines and gene-editing technologies, using its deep scientific expertise to develop treatments that can improve patients' lives.

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