MENLO PARK,
Calif., June 30, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT:
AST), a biotechnology company focused on the emerging field of
regenerative medicine, today announced that it has been added to
the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000®, Russell Global and Russell
Microcap® indexes following Russell Investments' ("Russell")
reconstitution of its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity
indexes after the close of the U.S. markets on June 26, 2015. Each June, Russell completely
rebalances its indexes, known as a reconstitution, to reflect
market changes in the past year.
The Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers
and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for
passive and active investment strategies. Approximately
$5.7 trillion in assets are currently
benchmarked to Russell indexes and more than $800 billion in assets are invested in products
based on them. The most well-known index of the series is the
Russell 2000®, a subset of the Russell 3000®
Index that measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the
U.S. equity market.
Russell determines membership for its equity indexes,
which remains in place for one year, primarily by objective,
market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. The Russell
3000® captures the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the
end of May of each year, ranking them by total market
capitalization. The largest 1,000 companies in this ranking make up
the Russell 1000® and the next largest 2,000 companies
comprise the Russell 2000®. The Russell 3000®
also serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index. The
Russell Microcap® consists of the smallest 1,000
securities in the small-cap Russell 2000 Index, plus the next 1,000
smallest eligible securities by market cap.
About Asterias Biotherapeutics
Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NYSE MKT: AST) is a
leading biotechnology company in the emerging field of regenerative
medicine. The Company's proprietary, industry leading platforms are
based on its pluripotent stem cell and allogeneic dendritic cell
technologies. Pluripotent stem cells are characterized by the
ability to become all cell types in the human body. Asterias is
focused on developing therapies based on pluripotent stem cells to
treat conditions in several medical areas where there is high unmet
medical need and inadequate available therapies. AST-OPC1
(oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) is currently in a Phase 1/2a
dose escalation clinical trial in spinal cord injury. AST-VAC1
(antigen-presenting autologous dendritic cells) has demonstrated
promise in a Phase 2 study in acute myelogenous leukemia. AST-VAC2
(antigen-presenting allogeneic dendritic cells) represents a second
generation, allogeneic approach to dendritic cell
vaccines. Additional information about Asterias
can be found at
www.asteriasbiotherapeutics.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating
results, future growth in research, technology, clinical
development, and potential opportunities for Asterias, along with
other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals,
plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute
forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical
fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words
such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects,"
"estimates") should also be considered to be forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the
development and/or commercialization of potential products,
uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory
approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and
maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may
differ materially from the results anticipated in these
forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together
with the many uncertainties that affect the businesses of Asterias,
particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in
Asterias' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Asterias disclaims any intent or obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc.