DUBLIN, Ireland, June 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prothena Corporation plc (Nasdaq:PRTA), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibodies for the potential treatment of a broad range of diseases, announced that the trading of its ordinary shares will be included in the Russell Global Index when Russell Investments reconstitutes its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 28, 2013, according to a preliminary list of additions posted June 14, 2013 on www.russell.com/indexes.
Membership in the Russell Global Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the appropriate large-cap, small-cap, all-cap indexes as well as the applicable style, sector and country indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
"We are very pleased to join the Russell Global Index" said Dale Schenk, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Prothena. "It is well established that investors rely on the Russell Indexes for true market representation and we expect our inclusion to have many benefits, including increased liquidity and broader exposure to institutional investors."
Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. According to Russell, approximately $4.1 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to Russell indexes.
The Russell Global Index, which Russell estimates captures approximately 98% of investable securities globally, is reconstituted annually and all sub-indexes are recalibrated to accurately measure current market realities for each market segment. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.
Russell launched the Russell Global Index in 2007, leveraging the popular methodology from its U.S. indexes. The broad-market Russell 3000® Index serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index.
Total returns data for the Russell Global Index and other Russell Indexes is available at http://www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp">http://www.russell.com/indexes/data/Global_Equity/Russell_Global_returns.asp.
About Russell
Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offers actively managed multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Russell stands with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals working with their advisors—using the firm's core capabilities that extend across capital market insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and indexes to help each achieve their desired investment outcomes.
Russell has more than $173 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/2013) and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2.6 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 12/31/2012). It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 2,200 managers around the world. Russell traded more than $1.4 trillion in 2012 through its implementation services business.
About Prothena
Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibodies for the potential treatment of a broad range of diseases that involve protein misfolding and cell adhesion, particularly on the discovery and development of potential therapeutic monoclonal antibodies directed specifically to disease-causing proteins. These potential therapies have a broad range of indications, including AL and AA forms of amyloidosis (NEOD001), Parkinson's disease and related synucleinopathies (PRX002) and novel cell adhesion targets involved in inflammatory disease and metastatic cancers (PRX003).
For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.prothena.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements relate to, among other things, our inclusion in the Russell Global Index and any anticipated benefits of increased liquidity and broader exposure to institutional investors from having our ordinary shares be included in the Russell Global Index, the. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "should," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "potential," "target," "will" and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. These statements are based on assumptions that may not prove accurate. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including, but not limited to the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2013, the "Risk Factors" section of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that we file with the SEC from time to time. Prothena undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or changes in Prothena's expectations.