NEW YORK, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- QED International Associates, Inc., administrator for the HealthShares(TM) Indexes, a series of 20 underlying indexes for the HealthShares(TM) Exchange-Traded Funds, today announced that effective at the opening of trading on March 10, 2008, ISIS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISIS) will replace Pharmion Corp. (NASDAQ:PHRM) in the HealthShares(TM) Composite Index. Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:SNTA) will replace Pharmion Corp. (NASDAQ:PHRM) in the Cancer Index. Pharmion is being acquired by Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG).
The HealthShares(TM) Composite Index consists of the 80 largest companies by market capitalization that are engaged in healthcare, life sciences and/or biotechnology that are part of the 16 underlying HealthShares Indexes, selecting the top 5 companies in market capitalization from each of the Composite Eligible Indexes.
Companies included in the HealthShares(TM) Cancer Index are engaged in the research, development, and/or commercialization of therapeutic agents for the treatment of a wide variety of cancers.
About QED International Associates QED International Associates, based in New York, is a leading financial industry consulting firm specializing in quantitative modeling and the design, development and maintenance of indexes and Exchange Traded Funds. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.qedinternational.com/ DATASOURCE: QED International Associates CONTACT: Ed Matluck, CEO, , or Michael Carty, Senior Advisor, for QED International Associates, +1-212-953-4058 Web site: http://www.qedinternational.com/
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