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Basis of Presentation (Policies) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2020
Basis of Presentation [Abstract] |
Basis of Presentation | We prepared the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 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 majority-owned affiliate, 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. Since Akcea’s IPO, our ownership has ranged from 68 percent to 77 percent. At March 31, 2020, our ownership of Akcea was approximately 76 percent. We reflect changes in our ownership of Akcea in our financial statements in the period the change occurs. For example, we reflected an increase in our ownership when we received 6.9 million shares of Akcea common stock as payment for the sublicense fee Akcea owed us for Pfizer’s license of vupanorsen (formerly AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx) in the fourth quarter of 2019. Refer to the section titled “Noncontrolling Interest in Akcea” in Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, for further information related to our accounting for our investment in Akcea.

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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for basis of accounting, or basis of presentation, used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy regarding (1) the principles it follows in consolidating or combining the separate financial statements, including the principles followed in determining the inclusion or exclusion of subsidiaries or other entities in the consolidated or combined financial statements and (2) its treatment of interests (for example, common stock, a partnership interest or other means of exerting influence) in other entities, for example consolidation or use of the equity or cost methods of accounting. The accounting policy may also address the accounting treatment for intercompany accounts and transactions, noncontrolling interest, and the income statement treatment in consolidation for issuances of stock by a subsidiary. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SX 210.3A-02) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116822174&loc=d3e355033-122828 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (SX 210.3A-03) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116822174&loc=d3e355100-122828 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109239629&loc=d3e5614-111684 + Details
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