LENEXA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Loncar Investments, LLC today announced the result of the semi-annual rebalance and reconstitution of the Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy Index, a stock index of top companies developing cancer immunotherapy treatments and discovering new ways to use the body’s immune system to fight cancer.
The Committee has added Arcus Biosciences (NYSE: RCUS), Fate Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FATE), Mirati Therapeutics (Nasdaq: MRTX), MorphoSys (Nasdaq: MOR), Sorrento Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRNE) and Zymeworks (NYSE: ZYME) to the index.
In addition, the Committee has decreased the target number of index components from 30 to 25 in order to 1) strengthen the index’s liquidity profile by boosting the market cap of the smallest component and 2) lower the index’s exposure to smaller companies that have not yet demonstrated proof of concept in early clinical trials.
The additions replace Agenus (Nasdaq: AGEN), Armo Biosciences (Nasdaq: ARMO), Bellicum Pharmaceutials (Nasdaq: BLCM), Celldex Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CLDX), Idera Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IDRA), Incyte Corporation (Nasdaq: INCY), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INO), Jounce Therapeutics (Nasdaq: JNCE), Pieris Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PIRS), NantKwest (Nasdaq: NK) and NewLink Genetics (Nasdaq: NLNK).
“The significant changes to the index this period reflect the speed with which the science of immunotherapy is moving,” said Brad Loncar, CEO of Loncar Investments and Chairman of the index committee. “Our index is designed to evolve with the science and highlight technologies at the forefront of research. We welcome these new additions that bring innovative and unique approaches to the field.”
Effective this week, all index holdings have been rebalanced to hold equal weight. The index is rebalanced and reconstituted semi-annually. The next rebalance will occur on December 18, 2018.
Loncar Investments is an official partner of the Cancer Research Institute, the world’s longest running nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to harnessing the immune system’s power to conquer all cancers. To learn about how to donate to CRI, please visit here.
Why immunotherapy: Cancer immunotherapy has become an important sector in the biotechnology space and is changing the way many cancers are treated. While traditional medicines like chemotherapies often give cancer a broad punch, the benefit of using immunotherapy is derived from the immune system's dynamic nature and the way it can more precisely be tailored to fight a patient's disease.
About the index: The Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy Index is an equal-weighted index of top immunotherapy companies rebalanced and reconstituted on a semi-annual basis. Price and return data are independently calculated on a daily basis by Indxx, LLC. Additional information can be found at the index’s dedicated website, www.LoncarIndex.com.
Index provider: Loncar Investments, LLC is committed to making the biotechnology space more approachable to a wider range of investors. It incorporates extensive research into biotech companies and technologies to develop stock market indexes that are focused on precise investment opportunities. The company is principally owned by biotech investor and analyst Brad Loncar.
