Many fund managers will be asking the same question today!!
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(PR NEWSWIRE) Duramed Pharmaceuticals to be Added to Russell 2000(R) Index
Duramed Pharmaceuticals to be Added to Russell 2000(R) Index
CINCINNATI, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq: DRMD) today announced that Frank Russell Company has included Duramed
in its preliminary list of companies to be added to the Russell 2000(R) Index
of small-capitalization stocks.
Duramed's anticipated inclusion is part of Frank Russell Company's annual
reconstitution of its U.S. equity indexes. Final additions and deletions to
the indexes will take place June 30 and be effective July 1, 1999 through June
30, 2000. Membership in Russell indexes, which are used as benchmarks for both
passive and active investment strategies, is determined strictly by market
capitalization rankings and style attributes.
E. Thomas Arington, president and chief executive officer of Duramed,
noted, "Our goal is to make Duramed the premier supplier of solid oral-dose
hormone products. The March 1999 approval of Cenestin(TM) (synthetic
conjugated estrogens, A) Tablets, the centerpiece of our long-term corporate
strategy, was a major milestone on that path and provides us with the
opportunity to begin to reward our shareholders. We are pleased that the rise
in our market capitalization following the Cenestin approval makes us eligible
for inclusion in the Russell 2000 Index. Further, we believe this with help
make potential investors more aware of Duramed's achievement and future
potential."
Annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes captures the 3,000 largest
U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization
to create the Russell 3000(R) Index. The largest 1,000 companies in the
ranking are designated the Russell 1000(R) Index, while the remaining 2,000
companies make-up the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. Market capitalization to
be used to determine Russell 2000 Index membership for 1999-2000 is expected
to range from an estimated $180 million to $1.4 billion, with a median of $500
million. The actual range to be used will be posted on Frank Russell Company's
Web site (www.russell.com) July 8, 1999.
About the Company
Duramed Pharmaceuticals develops, manufactures and markets prescription
drug products. The company's business strategy emphasizes products with
attractive market opportunities and potentially limited competition due to
technological barriers to entry, focusing on women's health and the hormone
replacement therapy market.
On March 24, 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
the company's first branded product, Cenestin(TM) (synthetic conjugated
estrogens, A) Tablets, for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor
symptoms. Shipments of Cenestin began on May 12, 1999 and consumers now can
have a prescription filled at many retail outlets. The sales force is in
place and the direct-to-physicians sales effort is expected to commence on
July 6, 1999. The company will be initiating a clinical program to evaluate
Cenestin in additional dosage strengths and for the prevention of
osteoporosis. One important element of these clinical trials -- the bone
marker study that will assess the efficacy of Cenestin in reducing the loss of
bone caused by the menopause -- has begun, and some results are anticipated to
be published as early as this fall.
Duramed's containment manufacturing facility for the production of
hormones -- with enclosed product flow and state-of-the-art environmental
controls -- ensures purity, stability and precise tablet uniformity for
Cenestin and other hormone products. While Duramed's primary focus will be
solid oral dose hormones, the company's other areas of concentration --
controlled release technology and oncology -- continue to represent attractive
market opportunities that will be pursued, as appropriate.
The company's stock is traded on Nasdaq using the symbol DRMD. Additional
information about the company can be found on the World Wide Web at
www.duramed.com.
Like all estrogen drug products, Cenestin should not be used in women with
known or suspected pregnancy, breast cancer, or estrogen-dependent neoplasia,
undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding, active thrombophlebitis, or
thromboembolic disorders. Estrogens have been reported to increase the risk
of endometrial carcinoma in postmenopausal women with an intact uterus. The
most common adverse events reported in clinical experience with Cenestin
included headache, insomnia, asthenia, nervousness, paresthesia, and
depression.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) encourages companies to
disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand a
company's future prospects and make informed investment decisions. Due to
changing market conditions, product competition, the nature of product
development and regulatory approval processes, the achievement of forward-
looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and
uncertainties. For further details and a discussion of these risks and
uncertainties, see Duramed's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form
1O-K/A.
SOURCE Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
-0- 06/25/99
/CONTACT: Investor Relations, Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
513-731-9900; Media, Ellen Knight of Dan Pinger Public Relations Inc.,
513-564-0700/
/Web site: russell.com
/Web site: duramed.com
(DRMD)
CO: Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ST: Ohio
IN: MTC
SU:
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