Ziopharm Oncology Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update Company plans to file IND for Ziopharm TCR-T program in Q1 of next year for its Library hotspot trial Eden BioCell on track for

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

Company plans to file IND for Ziopharm TCR-T program in Q1 of next year for its Library hotspot trial

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

based on rapid personalized manufacturing; several patients dosed under compassionate use

abstracts accepted at Society for Neuro-Oncology, including first clinical data from phase 2 combination clinical trial with Regeneron s Libtayo

Controlled IL-12 receives Rare Pediatric Disease Designantion for DIPG; all three clinical

sites active in phase 1/2 pediatric brain tumor trial

Strengthens leadership with two new

Directors; Populates Scientific Advisory Board; Names former Gilead Executive Adam Levy as EVP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Boston, November 5, 2020 Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. ( Ziopharm or the Company ) (Nasdaq: ZIOP),

today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 and provided a corporate update. The Company will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 pm ET.

During the third quarter, we again made progress in all three programs and strengthened the Board of Directors, Scientific Advisory Board and Executive

Team, said Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. Ziopharm is on track to file an IND for the first TCR-T trial early next year and the NCI is taking steps to begin the phase 2

Sleeping Beauty TCR-T trial under their direction. We are pleased by Eden BioCell s steps to submit an IND for the RPM CAR-T trial in Taiwan to infuse T

cells the day after gene transfer and heartened by the initial reports we are receiving regarding the first patients dosed by Eden BioCell and partners under compassionate use. Later this month, we will share data from our Controlled IL-12 program at the 2020 Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting.

Recent Corporate Highlights

Sleeping Beauty TCR-T Program

Sleeping Beauty CAR-T Program

Controlled IL-12 Program

Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Conference Call and Webcast

Ziopharm will host a conference call and webcast for the investment community today, November 5, 2020, at 4:30 p.m. EDT. The conference call can be accessed by

dialing 1-800-920-9723 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-212-231-2932 (international). The passcode for the conference call is 21971110. 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

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, timing for the treatment of patients in the NCI s clinical trial, 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 NCI s

ability to complete the requirements prior to treating patients, 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.