Marina Biotech Regains Compliance With Exchange Act Reporting Obligations

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Aug 20, 2014) - Marina Biotech, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MRNA), a leading nucleic acid-based drug discovery and development company focused on rare diseases, today announced that the Company has become current with respect to its obligation to file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, having filed its Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2013, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first three quarters of the 2013 fiscal year, and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first and second fiscal quarters of 2014 over the past thirty days. In addition, the Company is using its proprietary nucleic acid drug discovery platform to refocus research and developments efforts on expanding its clinical pipeline with the addition of two orphan disease programs.

"The last two years have been very challenging for the company, but as a result of recent progress, I believe we are solidly on a turnaround path and well on our way to building significant shareholder value," stated J. Michael French, president & CEO of Marina Biotech. "In 2010, we began executing an aggressive strategy to consolidate key intellectual property and technologies necessary to create a broad nucleic acid-based drug discovery platform. I believe that strategy continues to be successful and has resulted in a platform and capability unparalleled within the industry. Thus far, our platform and efforts have resulted in: (1) the only orally administered nucleic acid therapeutic, CEQ508 for the treatment of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, in clinical development; (2) the only technology, SMARTICLES^®, delivering both a single-stranded and a double-stranded oligonucleotide compound in ongoing clinical trials; and (3) the only company with the freedom-to-operate to develop any number of nucleic acid-based compounds, such as: small interfering RNA, microRNA mimics, microRNA antagonists, and antisense oligonucleotides that target broad RNA-based mechanisms of action, including: RNA interference, mRNA translational inhibition, exon skipping, microRNA replacement, microRNA inhibition, and steric blocking."

Nucleic acids are extremely promising for the treatment of complex and orphan diseases, yet efficient and cell-specific delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics remains a barrier to clinical progress. Furthermore, as many illnesses are multi-system diseases (i.e., they affect more than one organ or physiological process), treatment will likely not be successful using a singular therapeutic or delivery regimen. Successful treatment may require a customizable approach over the course of care that employs multiple therapeutics, each with a unique biological target, dose, and delivery mechanism. The ability to develop both single- and double-stranded oligonucleotide constructs and combine them with a breadth of delivery technologies will likely provide the greatest chance for clinical success.

Mr. French continued, "In terms of delivery, we believe the combined clinical experience of ProNAi and Mirna demonstrates that SMARTICLES has the potential to provide significant advancements in the delivery of oligonucleotide-based compounds. Further, we believe our unique, multi-faceted approach is clearly applicable in the development of therapeutics to treat complex diseases particularly orphan diseases and, as a result, sets us apart from our competitors. Moving forward we intend to expand our clinical pipeline with the addition of two orphan disease programs: myotonic dystrophy and Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Our goals are to: (1) receive approval for and then commercialize CEQ508 in the United States and to license the compound outside the U.S. and (2) achieve human proof-of-concept in myotonic dystrophy and Duchenne's muscular dystrophy and then to partner those opportunities for further development and commercialization."

About Marina Biotech, Inc.
Marina Biotech is an oligonucleotide therapeutics company with broad drug discovery technologies providing the ability to develop proprietary single and double-stranded nucleic acid therapeutics including siRNAs, microRNA mimics, antagomirs, and antisense compounds, including messengerRNA therapeutics. These technologies were built via a roll-up strategy to discover and develop different types of nucleic acid therapeutics in order to modulate (up or down) a specific protein(s) which is either being produced too much or too little thereby causing a particular disease. We believe that the Marina Biotech technologies have unique strengths as a drug discovery engine for the development of nucleic acid-based therapeutics for rare and orphan diseases. Further, we believe Marina Biotech is the only company in the sector that has a delivery technology in human clinical trials with differentiated classes of payloads, through licensees ProNAi Therapeutics and Mirna Therapeutics, delivering single-stranded and double-stranded nucleic acid payloads, respectively. Our novel chemistries and other delivery technologies have been validated through license agreements with Roche, Novartis, Monsanto, and Tekmira. The Marina Biotech pipeline currently includes a clinical program in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (a precancerous syndrome) and a preclinical program in myotonic dystrophy. Marina Biotech's goal is to improve human health through the development of RNAi- and oligonucleotide-based compounds and drug delivery technologies that together provide superior therapeutic options for patients. Additional information about Marina Biotech is available at www.marinabio.com.

Marina Biotech Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Federal Securities laws that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Marina Biotech to obtain additional funding; (ii) the ability of Marina Biotech to attract and/or maintain manufacturing, research, development and commercialization partners; (iii) the ability of Marina Biotech and/or a partner to successfully complete product research and development, including preclinical and clinical studies and commercialization; (iv) the ability of Marina Biotech and/or a partner to obtain required governmental approvals; and (v) the ability of Marina Biotech and/or a partner to develop and commercialize products prior to, and that can compete favorably with those of, competitors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements are contained in Marina Biotech's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, and any Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that have been filed since that date. Marina Biotech assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events.