GlobeNewswire Inc | Apr 28, 2021 04:05PM EDT

April 28, 2021

BOSTON, April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Ziopharm or the Company) (Nasdaq: ZIOP), announced today that Laurence J.N. Cooper, PhD, MD, Scientific Advisor to the Company, was the inaugural presenter at Aldevrons Virtual Breakthrough Speaker Series.

I am excited to participate in this important event on behalf of Ziopharm, said Dr. Cooper. I always look forward to engaging with the team at Aldevron for the benefit of interested scientists, clinicians and others. Aldevron and Ziopharm share a focused passion on developing innovative therapies for patients suffering from cancer.

The presentation was followed by a discussion with Aldevrons President of its Nucleic Acids Business Unit, Michelle Berg, and co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, John Ballantyne. Dr. Ballantyne commented, It is very fitting that Dr. Cooper kicked off our Breakthrough Speaker Series. We have worked closely with the team at Ziopharm for years and look forward to a continued strong partnership. Ziopharm is a clear leader in the next generation of cellular therapy companies, and its exciting to learn more about their work and the breakthroughs they are making.

Dr. Coopers comments focused on the distinctive advantages of Ziopharms suite of T-cell therapies, including its proprietary non-viral gene transfer system, Sleeping Beauty. The discussion highlights the significant patient need and commercial opportunity in both hematological and epithelial solid tumor cancers.

The pre-recorded session is posted on Aldevrons website and can be accessed using this link.

AboutZiopharm Oncology, Inc.Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven cell and gene therapies that weaponize the bodys immune system to treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with cancer each year. With its multiplatform approach, Ziopharm is at the forefront of immuno-oncology. Ziopharms pipeline is built for commercially scalable, cost effective T-cell receptor T-cell therapies based on its non-viralSleeping Beautygene transfer platform, a precisely controlled IL-12 gene therapy, and rapidly manufacturedSleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company has clinical and strategic collaborations with theNational Cancer Institute,The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centerand Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. For more information, please visitwww.ziopharm.com.

Investor Relations Contact:Adam D. Levy, Ph.D., MBAEVP, Investor Relations and Corporate CommunicationsT: 508.552.9255E:alevy@ziopharm.com

Forward-Looking Statements DisclaimerThis press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Companys cell therapy programs and technologies, including its commercial potential. Although Ziopharms management team believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Ziopharm, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development; future clinical data and analysis; the strength and enforceability of Ziopharms intellectual property rights; and competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as risk factors discussed or identified in the public filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commissionmade by Ziopharm, including those risks and uncertainties listed in Ziopharms Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by Ziopharm with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release, and Ziopharm does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.