Better Health for All

Ionis Pharmaceuticals develops treatments for various diseases, including rare conditions like spinal muscular atrophy and familial chylomicronemia syndrome

, , , , , , . While the company's focus on developing treatments aligns with the 'Better Health for All' value, the provided articles contain no quantitative data regarding pricing, accessibility, or safety records. Without this information, it is impossible to assess the net health impact, vulnerable reach, or risk transparency. Therefore, a neutral score is assigned due to insufficient evidence to determine alignment or misalignment with the value. More information is needed to properly assess Ionis's contribution to 'Better Health for All'.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing RNA-targeted therapeutics. The company's core business does not involve lending, insuring, moving, or storing money, nor does it offer financial products or services to consumers.

Therefore, all Key Performance Indicators under the 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value are not applicable to the company's operations, as explicitly stated in the provided articles for various KPIs.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The CEO to median employee pay ratio was 70:1 in 2024.

The recordable occupational injury rate (TRIR) was 0.89 per 200,000 hours in 2023. Employee engagement was 73% in 2023. Voluntary employee turnover was 5.2% in 2023. The 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report does not explicitly mention any regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues.

Honest & Fair Business

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has incurred no monetary losses from legal proceedings related to false marketing claims, corruption, or bribery.

The company maintains a confidential 24/7 helpline, hosted by a third-party provider, available by phone or web in local languages, and accessible to employees, vendors, customers, and other third parties. It has a detailed non-retaliation policy for good faith reports, and reports are logged, reviewed, assigned for investigation, and tracked until resolved. Seven of nine directors are independent, meaning approximately 78% of the board is conflict-free. Ionis is committed to complying with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, and provides annual employee Code training and acknowledgment that includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption.

Kind to Animals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals is an accredited organization with the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC).

Its animal care facility and program are inspected semi-annually by the Institutional Animal Care and Use (IACUC) Committee, and it submits an annual report to AAALAC with site visits every three years. The company states it is committed to avoiding animal testing whenever possible, only doing so when absolutely required, and strictly follows the principles of Reduce, Refine, and Replace (the 3 R’s). All animal use protocols address the 3 R’s and have a mandatory annual review and a three-year expiration. Animal studies were conducted on mice, rats, dogs, and monkeys to evaluate an ASO. Ionis established a formal government affairs and public policy function in 2024, but there is no evidence of public positions or advocacy on animal welfare legislation.

Planet-Friendly Business

Ionis Pharmaceuticals reported Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions of 5,483 MtCO₂e in 2023.

These emissions decreased by 6% in 2024 compared to 2023, resulting in approximately 5.154 MtCO₂e for 2024. The company does not report Scope 3 emissions. In 2023, 51% of operational energy was sourced from renewables. Total water consumption was 12.85 million gallons in 2023, with revenue of $788 million, equating to 16,307 m³ per $1M revenue. The Carlsbad headquarters building is LEED Silver certified, and a new research facility is planned for LEED Gold certification. In 2023, 223 tons of non-hazardous waste were landfilled, and 164 tons were recycled, resulting in a 42.4% diversion rate for non-hazardous waste. The company reported zero environmental compliance violations in 2024. No net-zero target year has been stated. The company plans to conduct a TCFD scenario analysis in 2025, indicating partial TCFD alignment and rudimentary climate scenario analysis.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No specific, quantifiable evidence was found in the provided articles for any of the KPIs related to 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. While articles mention corporate contributions

and partnerships with patient and caregiver groups , they do not provide data on formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups , cultural appropriation incidents , cultural impact assessment protocols , local employment ratios , grievance mechanisms , FPIC participation , community governance inclusion , cultural preservation investment , local procurement , indigenous suppliers , cultural site protection , social license to operate , charitable giving to cultural heritage , community fund allocation , language inclusivity , cultural incident response , or cultural sensitivity training completion . Although corporate contributions to local communities were mentioned , the calculated percentage of revenue (0.44%) does not align with any defined quantitative tier in the rubric for 'revenue_reinvested_local'.

Safe & Smart Tech

Ionis Pharmaceuticals demonstrates strong employee security and privacy training, with 100% of employees completing training on the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct in 2024, and annual privacy training required for all employees.

The company offers excellent user data control, providing rights to access, correct, delete, withdraw consent, and know what consumer health data is collected, with clear contact channels and an opt-out portal. Ionis complies with applicable regulations, including GDPR, CPRA, and the US federal Sunshine Act, and uses EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the International Data Transfer Agreement for international data transfers. The company states it does not use Consumer Health Data for discriminatory profiling and will notify users of significant automated decisions, indicating a basic AI ethics policy. However, there is no evidence of formal oversight mechanisms or active bias monitoring for AI systems, nor specific details on the explainability of AI decisions. While Ionis uses encryption for certain data and invests in protecting its IT infrastructure, the extent and strength of encryption are not specified. No data breaches have been documented in the provided articles, and the company has standard vulnerability management practices, including internal and external audits and threat assessments. The company strives to balance data use with privacy protection, but explicit data minimization practices or security testing coverage are not detailed.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Ionis Pharmaceuticals launched a new composting program at its Carlsbad headquarters, collecting over three tons of organic food waste.

The company reported no waste disposal violations or citations in its 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report, and no violations in 2023. However, the company has no facilities with zero waste certification. While efforts to improve hazardous waste management are mentioned, no specific metrics are given. The company's waste reduction goals are vague, lacking specific targets or timelines. Furthermore, no specific waste reduction or recyclability requirements for suppliers are detailed, and no customer waste education programs are mentioned.