SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.  20549
 
FORM 8-K
 
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
 
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):  June 12, 2025
 
IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
 
Delaware
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
 
000-19125
33-0336973
(Commission File No.)
(IRS Employer Identification No.)

2855 Gazelle Court
Carlsbad, CA 92010
(Address of Principal Executive Offices and Zip Code)
 
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (760) 931-9200


Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class
Trading symbol
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.001 Par Value
“IONS”
The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Section 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Section 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
  Emerging growth company                ☐
 
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.             ☐
 
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
 
(b)  Retirement of Richard Geary Ph.D., executive vice president and chief development officer

On June 12, 2025, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing that Richard Geary Ph.D., executive vice president and chief development officer, will retire effective January 2026. To support a seamless transition, the Company plans to engage Dr. Geary as a strategic consultant throughout 2026, and will file an amendment to this 8-K when the Company and Dr. Geary enter into the agreement for such services.

(c)  Appointment of Holly Kordasiewicz, Ph.D., to executive vice president and chief development officer

On June 12, 2025, the Company issued a press release announcing that Holly Kordasiewicz, Ph.D., currently senior vice president, neurology, will succeed Dr. Richard Geary Ph.D. in the role of executive vice president and chief development officer beginning in January 2026.

A copy of the release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01.
Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.
Description
Press Release dated June 12, 2025.


104
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURE
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
 
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
   
Dated:  June 12, 2025
By:  
 /s/ Patrick R. O’Neil


Patrick R. O’Neil


Executive Vice President, Chief Legal
Officer and General Counsel


Exhibit 99.1

Ionis announces Dr. Richard Geary, chief development officer to retire; Dr. Holly Kordasiewicz to assume role in January 2026
CARLSBAD, Calif., June 12, 2025 -- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IONS) today announced that Richard Geary Ph.D., executive vice president and chief development officer, will retire effective January 2026 and that Holly Kordasiewicz, Ph.D., currently senior vice president, neurology, will succeed him in the role.
“Richard has made tremendous contributions to Ionis over his 30-year tenure during which he spearheaded dozens of development programs and brought six innovative medicines through regulatory approvals, including TRYNGOLZATM, our first independent commercial medicine. We thank him for his leadership and unwavering dedication to patients in need,” said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Ionis. “Holly is a deeply respected and innovative leader who will champion our vision to bring a steady cadence of transformational medicines to people in need and support Ionis’ continued growth as a fully-integrated biotechnology company. Her broad experience across research and development, strong operational and management skills, and deep neurology expertise, position Holly to successfully guide our portfolio, which includes eight wholly owned neurology medicines in clinical development.”
Dr. Kordasiewicz has 20 years of experience in research and development and joined Ionis in 2011. An expert in neurology drug development, she currently oversees Ionis’ industry-leading neurology program, including medicines for Alexander disease, Angelman syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, prion disease and multiple system atrophy. Dr. Kordasiewicz also played an integral role in the discovery and development of our Biogen-partnered programs QALSODY® (tofersen) for a genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and IONIS-MAPTRx (BIIB080), a promising Alzheimer’s disease medicine in Phase 2 development. Dr. Kordasiewicz holds a B.A. from SUNY-Geneseo and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. She completed postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota and the University of California San Diego.
Dr. Geary joined Ionis in 1995 and has been involved in nearly every aspect of discovery and development. Under Dr. Geary’s leadership, Ionis submitted more than 50 investigational new drug applications to regulatory agencies and achieved six FDA and EU approvals, including for TRYNGOLZA (olezarsen). Dr. Geary will serve as a strategic consultant to Ionis throughout 2026​ to support a seamless transition.
About Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
For three decades, Ionis has invented medicines that bring better futures to people with serious diseases. Ionis currently has six marketed medicines and a leading pipeline in neurology, cardiology and select areas of high patient need. As the pioneer in RNA-targeted medicines, Ionis continues to drive innovation in RNA therapies in addition to advancing new approaches in gene editing. A deep understanding of disease biology and industry-leading technology propels our work, coupled with a passion and urgency to deliver life-changing advances for patients. To learn more about Ionis, visit Ionis.com and follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn and Instagram.

Ionis Forward-looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Ionis' business and the therapeutic and commercial potential of our commercial medicines, additional medicines in development and technologies. Any statement describing Ionis' 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 including those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing medicines that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such medicines. Ionis' 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 Ionis' forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Ionis. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Ionis' programs are described in additional detail in Ionis' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and most recent Form 10-Q, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these and other documents are available from the Company.
In this press release, unless the context requires otherwise, "Ionis," "Company," "we," "our" and "us" all refer to Ionis Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiaries.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals® and TRYNGOLZA™ are trademarks of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. QALSODY® is a registered trademark of Biogen.
Ionis Investor Contact:
D. Wade Walke, Ph.D.
[email protected] 760-603-2331
Ionis Media Contact:
Hayley Soffer
[email protected] 760-603-4679
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