Mergent, Inc. Announces Changes to the HealthShares(TM) Composite Index, HealthShares(TM) Dermatology and Wound Care Index and H

NEW YORK, May 14  /PRNewswire/ -- Mergent, Inc., administrator for the HealthShares(TM) Indexes, a series of 20 underlying indexes for the HealthShares(TM) Exchange Traded Funds, today announced the following changes with effect from the opening of trade on Monday May 19, 2008: Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ:GENZ) will replace LifeCell Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFC) in the HealthShares(TM) Composite Index, Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND) will replace LifeCell Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFC) in the HealthShares(TM) Dermatology and Wound Care Index and Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ:GENZ) will replace LifeCell Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFC) in the HealthShares(TM) Orthopedic Repair Index. LifeCell Corp. is being acquired by Kinetic Concepts Inc. (NYSE:KCI) through a cash tender offer.

The HealthShares(TM) Composite Index consists of the 80 largest companies, by market capitalization, that are engaged in healthcare, life sciences and/or biotechnology that are part of the 16 underlying HealthShares(TM) Indexes, selecting the top 5 companies in market capitalization from each of the Composite Eligible Indexes.

Companies included in the HealthShares(TM) Dermatology and Wound Care Index are engaged in the research, clinical development and/or commercialization of therapeutic agents for the treatment of a wide variety of skin disorders by topical or systemic means.

Companies included in the HealthShares(TM) Orthopedic Repair Index are engaged in the manufacturing, distribution, and/or commercialization of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and/or regenerative medicine for the treatment of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, ligament, maxillofacial and dental elements, excluding periodontal and skin conditions or disorders.

About Mergent

Mergent, Inc., a Xinhua Finance company (TSE Mothers: 9399; OTC ADRs: XHFNY), is the preferred provider of business and financial data on global publicly listed companies. Headquartered in Fort Mill, SC and New York City with sales offices in key North American cities, Mergent also has a strong global presence with offices in London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Toronto and Sydney. Mergent's databases contain detailed equity, debt and corporate action information on over 15,000 U.S. public companies, 20,000 non-U.S. public companies and all U.S. municipal bonds.

For more than a century, Mergent has been providing solutions to clients in the investment management, academic, research and corporate information fields. Today, that unique experience is combined with leading-edge technology to form a robust, diverse product line that operates under Mergent's umbrella. These include Mergent's Dividend Achievers Indices -- the premier benchmark for long-term returns; Ford Equity Research -- a leading independent investment research firm; Mergent Online -- a powerful web-based research portal that provides critical business information to support daily research and analysis; Mergent Manuals, Handbooks and Investment Guides; in-depth municipal and corporate fixed-income data, as well as end-of-day evaluation pricing; EventsData -- providing real-time information on corporate actions, dividend payouts, news and updates directly to client desktops. For more information, please visit http://www.mergent.com/ and http://www.dividendachievers.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Mergent, Inc.



CONTACT:  Jean Dugan, Director of Sales, Index Services of Mergent, Inc.,

[phone], 



Web site:  http://www.mergent.com/

http://www.dividendachievers.com/ 

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