Stan Crooke

Founder, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
n-Lorem Foundation

Stan Crooke, MD, PhD, founded Ionis and served as its chairman until his retirement in 2021, to focus on his scientific interests and the nonprofit organization he founded, the n-Lorem Foundation. Dr. Crooke continues to serve as a scientific advisor to 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. 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.