ZIOPHARM Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results and Provides Update on Recent Activities Company to Host Conference Call on Thursday

ZIOPHARM Reports Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results and Provides Update on Recent Activities

Company to Host Conference Call on Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 8:00 am ET to Discuss Updated Data from Phase 1 Study of

Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + Veledimex in Brain Cancer Presented at SNO 2016 Annual Meeting

BOSTON, MA November 9, 2016 ZIOPHARM

Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on new immunotherapies, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016, and provided an update on the Company s recent activities.

ZIOPHARM continues to advance a broad portfolio of immuno-oncology programs, including our gene therapy platform, and our chimeric antigen receptor,

T-cell receptor, and natural killer adoptive cell-based therapies, said Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ZIOPHARM Oncology. These programs ensure that ZIOPHARM participates across the spectrum of cell-based

therapies, with technologies spanning non-viral and viral T-cell gene transfer, cytokines, and controlled expression of biologics after infusion. What is particularly exciting about our progress is that most of these technologies will be in clinical

testing in 2017, moving us toward realization of these transformative ideas including individualized therapies targeting neoantigens and continued shortening of cell manufacturing to infuse T cells after gene transfer. These ideas will allow us to

leapfrog current technologies and address some of the most important challenges in cancer treatment today.

Francois Lebel, M.D., Chief Medical

Officer of ZIOPHARM Oncology added: In the near-term, we look forward to presenting updated results at the Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting next week from our Phase 1, multi-center study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex in patients with

brain cancer. To date, intracranial administration of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex has demonstrated a favorable safety profile, with a survival benefit compared to historical control that provides a strong rational for moving to a phase 2/3

Corporate and Program Updates

Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex is a

gene therapy candidate for the controlled expression of interleukin 12 (IL-12), a critical protein for stimulating an anti-cancer immune response, using the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System (RTS ) gene switch. ZIOPHARM is currently enrolling patients in two studies of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex: a multi-center Phase 1 study in patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme

(GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer, and a Phase 1b/2 study for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer following standard chemotherapy.

The presentation, entitled Phase 1 study of intra-tumoral viral delivery

of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + oral veledimex is well tolerated and suggests survival benefit in recurrent high grade glioma will be presented on Friday, November 18, 2016. The Company will host a conference call to discuss these data on Thursday,

November 17, 2016 at 8:00 am ET.

ZIOPHARM is developing various immuno-oncology programs, including chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T), T-cell receptor (TCR), T

cell (TCR-T), and natural killer (NK) adoptive cell-based therapies. These programs are being advanced in collaboration with Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Merck Serono (CAR-T only).

The paper describes results for 26 patients with multiply relapsed B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n=17) or B-cell non-Hodgkin

lymphoma, (NHL, n=9) who were enrolled in two investigator-initiated clinical trials at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center infused with Sleeping Beauty-modified T cells after autologous (n=7) or allogeneic (n=19) hematopoietic

stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). Although the primary objective of these trials was not to establish efficacy, the recipients outcomes are encouraging, with apparent doubling of survivals compared to historical controls which is attributed to

the persistence of the infused T cells. Additionally, by infusing a CD19-specific CAR-T to target minimal residual disease after autologous and allogeneic HSCT, the approach may improve tolerability by avoiding cytokine release syndrome.

Scientific Meeting Conference Call and Slide Webcast

ZIOPHARM will host a conference call and webcast slide presentation Thursday, November 17, 2016,

at 8:00 am ET to discuss updated data from the Company s Phase 1 study of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 + veledimex in high-grade glioma. The call can be accessed by dialing (844) 309-0618 (U.S. and Canada) or (661) 378-9465 (international). The passcode for

the conference call is 11110235. To access the slides and live audio webcast, or the subsequent archived recording, visit the Investors & Media 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 (2) weeks.

Third-Quarter 2016 Financial Results

The Company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $94.7 million, which the

Company believes will be sufficient to fund its currently planned activities into the fourth quarter of 2017.

About ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.:

ZIOPHARM Oncology is a Boston, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company employing novel gene expression, control and cell technologies to deliver safe,

effective and scalable cell- and viral-based therapies for the treatment of cancer and graft-versus-host-disease. The Company s immuno-oncology programs, in collaboration with Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON) and the MD Anderson Cancer Center,

include chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) and other adoptive cell-based approaches that use non-viral gene transfer methods for broad scalability. The Company is advancing programs in multiple stages of development together with Intrexon

Corporation s RheoSwitch Therapeutic System technology, a switch to turn on and off, and precisely modulate, gene expression in order to improve therapeutic index. The Company s

pipeline includes a number of cell-based therapeutics in both clinical and preclinical testing which are focused on hematologic and solid tumor malignancies.

Forward-Looking Safe-Harbor Statement:

release contains certain forward-looking information about ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by 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 plans and expectations regarding its securities offerings, fundraising activities and financial strategy,

the progress, timing and results of preclinical and clinical trials involving the Company s drug candidates, and the progress of the Company s research and development programs. All of such statements are subject to certain risks and

uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements. These risks and

uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to finance our operations and business initiatives and obtain funding for such activities, whether chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) approaches, Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK cell-based

therapies, or any of our other therapeutic candidates will advance further in the pre-clinical or clinical trials process and

whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indications; whether chimeric

antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) approaches, Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK cell-based therapies, and our other therapeutic products will be successfully marketed if approved; the strength and enforceability of our intellectual property rights;

competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and the other risk factors contained in our periodic and interim SEC reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, our

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and our Quarterly Report for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of

the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any events.

RheoSwitch Therapeutic System and RTS are registered trademarks of Intrexon Corporation.

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.

Statements of Operations

(in thousands except share and per share data)

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.

Lori Ann Occhiogrosso

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.