ISIS Pharmaceuticals Is Changing Its Name

ISIS Pharmaceuticals announced Friday that the company is changing its name to Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

The California-based biotech company will trade on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “IONS,” replacing “ISIS,” according to CNBC.

The company did not cite the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, commonly known as ISIS, as the reason for the change in a statement issued by chief operating officer Lynne Parshall.

“Our goal is to create medicines that will save patients’ lives, and we are proud to be at the forefront of creating innovative medicines,” Parshall wrote in a statement. “We decided to change our company name because, when people see or hear our name, we want them to think about the life-saving medicines we are developing.”