NEW YORK, June 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:SGYP) (Nasdaq:SGYPU) (Nasdaq:SGYPW), a developer of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders and diseases, today announced that Russell Investments has added Synergy Pharmaceuticals to the broad-market Russell 3000® Index, the Russell Global Index and the Russell Microcap Index based on Russell Investments annual reconstitution of its family of U.S. indexes finalized after the close of the U.S. markets on June 22, 2012.
Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000® Index or small-cap Russell 2000® Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.
"We are delighted that Synergy Pharmaceuticals has been included in these Russell Indexes, as it provides greater visibility for Synergy, and potentially will lead to increased liquidity and a broader stockholder base," stated Gary S. Jacob, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Pharmaceuticals.
The Russell 3000 also serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index, which Russell launched in 2007.
Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. In the institutional marketplace, an industry-leading $3.9 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. Russell calculates more than 80,000 benchmarks daily covering approximately 98 percent of the investable market globally, 83 countries and more than 10,000 securities. 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.
Total returns data for the Russell 3000 and other Russell Indexes is available at http://www.russell.com/Indexes/performance/default.asp">http://www.russell.com/indexes/data/US_Equity/Russell_US_Index_returns.asp.
About Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Synergy is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new drugs to treat gastrointestinal disorders and diseases. Synergy's lead proprietary drug candidate plecanatide is a synthetic analog of the human gastrointestinal hormone uroguanylin, and functions by activating the guanylate cyclase C receptor on epithelial cells of the GI tract. Synergy completed a Phase I study of plecanatide in healthy volunteers and a Phase IIa clinical trial in CIC patients. In October, 2011, Synergy initiated dosing of patients in a major Phase II/III clinical trial of plecanatide to treat chronic idiopathic constipation. Plecanatide is also being developed to treat constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, with the first trial in IBS-C patients planned for the second half of 2012. Synergy's second GC-C agonist SP-333 is currently in pre-clinical development to treat inflammatory bowel diseases. More information is available at http://www.synergypharma.com.
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. Working with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals, Russell's core capabilities extend across capital markets insights, manager research, Indexes, portfolio implementation and portfolio construction.
Russell has approximately $155 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/2012) and works with 2,400 institutional clients, more than 580 independent distribution partners and advisors, and individual investors globally. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "planned," "believe," "forecast," "estimated," "expected," and "intend," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Synergy's current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, substantial competition; our ability to continue as a going concern; our need for additional financing; uncertainties of patent protection and litigation; uncertainties of government or third party payer reimbursement; limited sales and marketing efforts and dependence upon third parties; and risks related to failure to obtain FDA clearances or approvals and noncompliance with FDA regulations. As with any pharmaceutical under development, there are significant risks in the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of new products. There are no guarantees that future clinical trials discussed in this press release will be completed or successful or that any product will receive regulatory approval for any indication or prove to be commercially successful. Synergy does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in Synergy's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.