Genprex Scheduled to Join Russell 3000® Index
AUSTIN, Texas— (June 9, 2020) — Genprex, Inc. (“Genprex” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company developing potentially life-changing technologies for patients with cancer and diabetes, today announced that it is scheduled to join the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 Index when FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider, reconstitutes its 2020 indices after the markets close on Friday, June 26, according to a preliminary list of additions posted on their website on June 5.
The Russell 3000 Index includes the 3,000 publicly traded companies on the Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges with the largest market capitalizations. FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective market-capitalization rankings and style attributes (i.e. growth or value). Each June, the Russell 3000 index is reconstituted to reflect market capitalization changes over the prior year. This closely watched market event impacts more than $9 trillion in investor assets benchmarked to or invested in products based on the Russell U.S. indices.
“The selection of Genprex for the Russell 3000® Index will add to the awareness of our company among institutional investors, money managers and index funds, as well as highlight to them our suitability as an investment,” said Rodney Varner, Genprex’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This inclusion indicates that our leadership in developing gene therapies is resonating with investors. It comes at a time when we are preparing to initiate our Phase I/II clinical trial to evaluate our lead drug candidate, Oncoprex, in combination with AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso® for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and preparing to file our IND to initiate a clinical trial of Oncoprex in combination with Merck’s Keytruda® in NSCLC. We believe our inclusion in the Russell 3000 Index is yet another significant milestone for us, as it will further increase our exposure with a broader group of institutional investors.”
In January 2020, Genprex was awarded U.S. FDA Fast Track designation for use of Oncoprex combined with Tagrisso for the treatment of NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations whose tumors progressed after treatment with Tagrisso alone. Genprex also signed an exclusive license agreement earlier in 2020 with the University of Pittsburgh for a preclinical diabetes gene therapy candidate that has the potential to cure Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the Company has significantly strengthened its balance sheet in 2020 and had more than $23 million in cash on its balance sheet at the end of the first quarter of 2020, providing a substantial runway for it to execute on its clinical plans, conduct additional research and development, and cover general corporate expenses.