CHICAGO, May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, cancer and respiratory diseases, today announced that it was selected as a founding member of the new NASDAQ OMX AeA Illinois Tech Index , which was launched on May 19. The only existing statewide public technology index in the U.S., the ILTI tracks the performance of publicly held technology companies, including NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex companies, that are headquartered in Illinois.
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This new index is a public-private partnership developed with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Grant Thornton LLP, Baker & McKenzie and the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization (iBIO). The ILTI is designed to measure the health and growth of the state’s tech economy by tracking the leading public technology companies from major sectors including life sciences, high tech manufacturing and information technology.
“We are pleased and honored to be selected as a founding member of the NASDAQ OMX AeA Illinois Tech Index,” said Michael T. Flavin, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Life Sciences. “Our inclusion in the ILTI will help to increase our visibility to a larger group of institutional investors and index funds.”
Why Illinois? Because it is a leading hub for technology and the state is well-positioned for sustainable growth. Illinois has one of the largest concentrations of research in the world, with more than 200 academic, government and non-profit research institutions, and it has world class universities and a highly educated labor pool. Moreover, the state has rich offerings in medical, agricultural and industrial/environmental biotechnology and information technology sectors.
How the ILTI is Calculated
The NASDAQ OMX AeA Illinois Tech Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of common type securities. The value of the Index equals the aggregate value of the Total Shares Outstanding (“TSO”), also known as Index Shares, of each of the component Index Securities multiplied by each such security’s respective last sale price, and divided by the Divisor of the Index. If trading in an Index Security is halted while the market is open, the last traded price for that security is used for all index computations until trading resumes. If trading is halted before the market is open, the previous day’s last sale price is used. The Index commenced on May 19, 2008 with a base value of 1000.00.
The formula for the Index values is as follows: Aggregate Market Value/Divisor. The Index is ordinarily calculated without regard to cash dividends on Index securities. The Index is calculated during the trading day and is disseminated every 15 seconds from 09:30:15 to 17:16:00 ET through the NASDAQ Index Dissemination Services (NIDS). The closing value of the Index may change up until 17:15:00 ET due to corrections to the last sale price of the Index Securities.
About Advanced Life Sciences
Advanced Life Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, cancer and respiratory diseases. The Company’s lead candidate, cethromycin, is a novel once-a-day oral antibiotic in late-stage development for the treatment of respiratory tract infections including CAP. For more information, please visit us on the web at http://www.advancedlifesciences.com.
About Cethromycin
Cethromycin has shown higher in vitro potency and a broader range of activity than macrolides against Gram-positive bacteria associated with respiratory tract infections, and, again in in vitro tests, it appears to be effective against penicillin- and macrolide-resistant bacteria. Cethromycin has a mechanism of action that may slow the onset of future bacterial resistance. In addition to its utility in CAP, cethromycin is also being investigated for the prophylactic treatment of inhalation anthrax post- exposure. The FDA has designated cethromycin as an orphan drug for the prophylactic treatment of inhalation anthrax post exposure, but the drug is not yet approved for this or any other indication.
About Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)
CAP is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. CAP and other respiratory tract infections are caused by pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. Approximately 5.6 million cases of CAP are diagnosed each year in the United States with 10 million physician visits, resulting in an estimated total annual expenditure of $2 billion dollars for prescribed antibiotics to treat CAP. CAP is potentially fatal if not treated properly, and the bacteria that cause CAP are developing resistance to current standard of care treatments.
Macrolides and penicillins are currently the front-line treatments for respiratory tract infections such as CAP. As macrolide and penicillin resistance grows and has the potential to cause more clinical failures, there is a need for new antibiotics with unique mechanisms of action that can overcome this emerging resistance.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our management’s judgment regarding future events. The Company does not undertake any obligations to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed herein due to several factors including the success and timing of our clinical trials and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval and labeling of our product candidates; our plans to develop and commercialize our product candidates; the loss of key scientific or management personnel; the size and growth of potential markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets; regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries; the rate and degree of market acceptance of any future products; the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues and capital requirements; our ability to obtain financing on terms acceptable to us; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates; the successful development of our sales and marketing capabilities; the success of competing drugs that become available; and the performance of third party collaborators and manufacturers. These and additional risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Joe Camp of Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc.,
+1-630-754-4352, jcamp@advancedlifesciences.com; or Media, Melanie Nimrodi,
+1-312-546-3508, mnimrodi@frbir.com, or Investors, Kathy Price,
+1-213-486-6547, kprice@frbir.com, both of Financial Relations Board, for
Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc.
Web site: http://www.advancedlifesciences.com//
