Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

We prepared the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 on the same basis as the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. We included all normal recurring adjustments in the financial statements, which we considered necessary for a fair presentation of our financial position at such dates and our operating results and cash flows for those periods. Our operating results for the interim periods may not be indicative of what our operating results will be for the entire year. For more complete financial information, these financial statements, and notes thereto, should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.

Consolidation

In the condensed consolidated financial statements, we included the accounts of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the consolidated results of our subsidiary, Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. We formed Akcea in December 2014. In July 2017, Akcea completed an initial public offering, or IPO. Prior to Akcea’s IPO in July 2017, we owned 100 percent of Akcea. At September 30, 2020, our ownership of Akcea was approximately 76 percent. We reflect changes in our ownership percentage in our financial statements as an adjustment to noncontrolling interest in the period the change occurs. In October 2020, we acquired the shares of Akcea’s common stock we did not own. We will refer to this transaction as the Akcea Acquisition throughout the remainder of this document. We will reflect the impact of the Akcea Acquisition in our financial statements in the fourth quarter of 2020.