Semi-Annual Changes to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index

NEW YORK, May 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. NDAQ announced today the results of the semi-annual re-ranking of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index^® NBI, which will become effective prior to market open on Monday, May 20, 2013.

The following eleven securities will be added to the Index: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. ACAD; Albany Molecular Research, Inc. AMRI; Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANAC; Clovis Oncology, Inc. CLVS; Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. FURX; Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. HPTX; NewLink Genetics Corporation NLNK; Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PGNX; Repligen Corporation RGEN; Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SCMP; and Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SGYP.

The 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 re-ranked semi-annually in May and November. For more information about the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.

As a result of the re-ranking, the following four securities will be removed from the Index: 

Affymax, Inc. AFFY; BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BCRX; Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SGNT; and Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. SVNT.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is the basis for the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index(SM) Fund 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 iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index Fund trade on various exchanges.

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About NASDAQ OMX Group

The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 23 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.99+% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to over 3,300 listed companies worth more than $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn more, visit www.nasdaqomx.com. Follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NASDAQ) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). NDAQ

The ETFs set forth above are not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by NASDAQ OMX.

NASDAQ OMX makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the ETFs.

The Industry Classification Benchmark ("ICB") is owned by FTSE International Limited and has been licensed for use. "FTSE™" is a trade mark of London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE under licence. FTSE does not accept liability to any person for any loss or damage arising out of any error or omission in the ICB

The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC.  For a prospectus, call 1-800-iSHARES (1-800-474-2737), or view a prospectus at at http://www.ishares.com.

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