WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Endocyte, Inc. (Nasdaq:ECYT), a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted small molecule drug conjugates (SMDCs) and companion imaging diagnostics for personalized therapy, today announced that it has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (Nasdaq:^NBI) as part of NASDAQ's semi-annual re-ranking. Endocyte's inclusion in the index will become effective prior to market open on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011.
The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is designed to track the performance of a set of NASDAQ listed securities that are classified as either biotechnology or pharmaceutical according to the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB). The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is the basis for the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology IndexSM Fund (Nasdaq:IBB), which seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. In addition, options based on the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund trade on various exchanges.
For more information about the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
About Endocyte
Endocyte is a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Endocyte uses its proprietary technology to create novel SMDCs and companion imaging diagnostics for personalized targeted therapies. The company's SMDCs actively target receptors that are over-expressed on diseased cells, relative to healthy cells. This targeted approach is designed to enable the treatment of patients with highly active drugs at greater doses, delivered more frequently, and over longer periods of time than would be possible with the untargeted drug alone. The companion imaging diagnostics are designed to identify patients whose disease over-expresses the target of the therapy and who are therefore more likely to benefit from treatment.