Marina Biotech Expands European and Canadian Patent Protection of Its SMARTICLES Nucleic Acid Delivery Technology

BOTHELL, WA--(Marketwired - Jun 10, 2015) - Marina Biotech, Inc. (OTCQB: MRNA), a leading nucleic acid-based drug discovery and development company focused on rare diseases, today announced that the company has received a notice of allowance from the European Patent Office of the intent to grant the claims in EP 07856910.0 which broadly cover SMARTICLES^® amphoteric liposomes made with a wide range of novel sterol amphiphiles. In addition, the company has received a notice of allowance of Canada Patent 2,665,783, which covers processes for making a broad range of amphoteric liposomes, including the SMARTICLES formulation currently in Phase I and Phase II clinical studies. These patents provide for both improved properties of a SMARTICLES formulation, such as modifiable charge and fusogenicity, as well as the delivery of a broad range of nucleic acid agents. The continued allowance and issuance of SMARTICLES-related patents expands the global portfolio of this versatile nucleic acid delivery technology.

"The European and Canadian patents will be a significant addition to the SMARTICLES global portfolio as we continue to collect data that demonstrate the clinical versatility of SMARTICLES for nucleic acid therapeutic delivery. Most recently, SMARTICLES have demonstrated cargo delivery outside the liver, as evidenced in part by Mirna Therapeutics' recent report of SMARTICLES-mediated delivery of their double-stranded miRNA mimic, MRX34, to white blood cells of patients with multiple tumor types," stated J. Michael French, president and CEO of Marina Biotech. "Expanding the global reach of SMARTICLES protects one of our key delivery technologies and continues to support our strategy to have the broadest and most comprehensive nucleic acid drug discovery capability in the sector."

J. Michael French will present on the company's partnering and licensing opportunities at the 2015 BIO International Convention's Business Forum on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. The company's presentation is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM ET and will be available via an audio webcast. To access the webcast, please go to:
http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/bio/internationalconvention2015/34106292949.cfm

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, MiNA, 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. Marina Biotech assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements because of subsequent events.