Ziopharm Oncology Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update Enrollment completed in Controlled IL-12 phase 2 clinical trial with Regeneron s Libtayo First patient with DIPG dosed in phas

Ziopharm Oncology Reports Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

Enrollment completed in Controlled IL-12 phase 2 clinical trial with Regeneron s Libtayo

First patient with DIPG dosed in phase 1/2 pediatric brain

tumor trial of Contolled IL-12

Work restrictions at the NCI and MD Anderson

easing; MD Anderson initiated phase 1 CD19-specific CAR-T clinical trial using RPM

Eden BioCell on track for Taiwan IND filing for autologus CAR-T clinical trial this year

Company to host conference call and webcast today, August 6, at 4:30 p.m. EDT

Boston, August 6, 2020 Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. ( Ziopharm or the Company ) (Nasdaq: ZIOP), today

announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 and provided a corporate update.

During the second quarter, we were

able to report positive clinical and organizational progress, positioning the Company for additional data readouts in the coming year, said Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. With the completion of enrollment in our

phase 2 trial of Controlled IL-12 in combination with Libtayo, and launches of two new trials, we have begun to see encouraging signs of our partners re-emerging despite

the COVID-19 outbreak.

Recent Corporate Highlights

Sleeping Beauty TCR-T Program

Controlled IL-12 Program

Sleeping Beauty CAR-T Program

Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Conference Call and Webcast

Ziopharm will host a conference call and webcast for the investment community today, August 6, 2020, at 4:30 p.m. EDT. The conference call can be accessed by

dialing 1-877-451-6152 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-201-389-0879 (international). The passcode for the conference call is 13706729. To access the live webcast or the subsequent archived recording, click here or visit the Investors

section of the Ziopharm website at www.ziopharm.com. The webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the company s website for two weeks.

About Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.

Ziopharm is developing non-viral and cytokine-driven cell and gene therapies that weaponize the body s immune system to treat the millions of people globally diagnosed with a solid tumor each year. With its multiplatform approach,

Ziopharm is at the forefront of immuno-oncology with a goal to treat any type of solid tumor. Ziopharm s pipeline is built for commercially scalable, cost effective T-cell receptor T-cell therapies based on its non-viral Sleeping Beauty gene transfer platform, a precisely controlled IL-12 gene

therapy, and rapidly manufactured Sleeping Beauty-enabled CD19-specific CAR-T program. The Company has clinical and strategic partnerships with the National Cancer Institute, The University of

Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and others. For more information, please visit www.ziopharm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking

statements are statements that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as may, will, could, expects, plans, anticipates, and

believes. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company s business and strategic plans and the progress, design and timing of the Company s research and development programs, including the

anticipated dates for the clearance of the IND for its TCR-T clinical trial and the submission of the IND by Eden BioCell, enrollment expectations for its CAR-T and DIPG

clinical trials, and the timing for the data readouts for its Controlled IL-12 trials. Although

Ziopharm s management team believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements

are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Ziopharm, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or

projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, changes in our operating plans that may impact our cash expenditures, the uncertainties inherent in research and development,

future clinical data and analysis, including whether any of Ziopharm s product candidates will advance further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process, including receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or

equivalent foreign regulatory agencies to conduct clinical trials and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indication; the strength and enforceability

of Ziopharm s intellectual property rights; competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as risk factors discussed or identified in the public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made by Ziopharm,

including those risks and uncertainties listed in Ziopharm s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by Ziopharm with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Company s business, clinical development and regulatory efforts and the value of its common stock, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be

predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the

disease. The global economic slowdown, the overall disruption of global healthcare systems and the other risks and uncertainties associated with the pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the Company s business, financial condition,

results of operations and growth prospects. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release, and Ziopharm does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release whether as a

result of new information, future events or any other reason.

Investor Relations Contacts:

VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

E: ctaylor@ziopharm.com

E: mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com

Media Relations Contact:

LifeSci Communications:

E: pbursey@lifescicomms.com

Financial Tables Follow

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.

Statements of Operations

(in thousands except share and per share data)

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.