AUSTIN, Texas, June 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XBiotech Inc., (Nasdaq:XBIT), the developer of True HumanTM therapeutic antibodies, announced today that the Company has been added to the Russell 2000 Index, Russell 3000 Index, Russell Global Index, and Russell Microcap Index as part of Russell Investments' annual index rebalance on June 29, 2015. A preliminary list of companies in the Microcap and other indices can be found at www.russell.com/indexes.
John Simard, CEO of XBiotech, stated, "XBiotech's addition to the Russell 2000 Index is a gratifying milestone for the company following our successful IPO. Inclusion in the Index should serve to increase our exposure among investors and add value for our shareholders. Our mission to discover and deliver new antibody therapies based on natural immunity to disease is nothing short of a paradigm shift in medicine, while our dramatic cost reduction of the manufacturing process is setting new expectations for the cost of drug development. We have received strong support from the investment community to date and inclusion in the Russell Index offers further objective measure of the investment opportunity."
Russell Investments reconstitutes its indices annually, determining membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, rules-based market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. Membership in the Russell 2000, which remains in place for one year, is based on membership in the broad-market Russell 3000 Index. Membership in the Russell Indexes means automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and value style indexes.
The Indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. Russell calculates more than 700,000 benchmarks daily, covering approximately 98% of the investment market globally, 80 countries, and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $5.7 trillion in assets are benchmarked to Russell Indices.
About FTSE Russell:
Russell Indexes is part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider. Institutional and retail investors use FTSE Russell index expertise and products extensively. Leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks use FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives.
A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: independent committees of leading market participants inform a transparent rules-based methodology. FTSE Russell is focused on applying the highest industry standards in index design and governance. FTSE Russell is also focused on index innovation and client collaboration as it seeks to enhance the breadth, depth and reach of its offering.
FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group. For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com.
About XBiotech
XBiotech is pioneering a new era in the discovery and development of targeted antibodies based on its True HumanTM technology. The Company's mission is to rethink the way antibody medicines are discovered and commercialized by advancing its robust pipeline of truly natural human antibodies for treating serious diseases such as cancer, inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases. XBiotech's lead product, Xilonix™, is a potential breakthrough antibody therapy that is currently the subject of two pivotal clinical studies for treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Xilonix™ specifically targets and neutralizes interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1a), a molecule known to promote angiogenesis, growth and spread of tumors, as well as mediate symptoms such as metabolic dysregulation, fatigue and anxiety associated with advanced cancer. XBiotech believes that its broad pipeline of True Human antibodies will be able to potentially deliver unmatched safety and efficacy because they are cloned directly from individual donors who possess natural immunity against certain targeted diseases. As such, XBiotech expects that True Human antibodies will retain their natural physiology and tolerance profile, having passed the rigors of immune selection in the body. For more information, visit www.xbiotech.com.
CONTACT: XBiotechAshley Oteroaotero@xbiotech.com
512.386.2930
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.:
Joshua Drumm, Ph.D. (investors)
jdrumm@tiberend.com
212.375.2664
Janine McCargo (media)
jmccargo@tiberend.com
646.604.5150
XBiotech
