The index also screens companies for a number of factors, including drugs approved by either the FDA or EMA that to harness the immune system to fight cancer, drugs in the human stage of testing that harnesses the immune system, intentions to begin human stage testing of a drug that harnesses the immune system to fight cancer, or announcement of an immunotherapy collaboration or partnership with a major pharmaceutical company.
Top holdings include Ziopharm Oncology (NasdaqGS: ZIOP) 4.9%, Kite Pharma (NasdaqGS: KITE) 4.7%, Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG) 4.7%, Pfizer (NasdaqGS: PFE) 4.5% and Bristol Myers (NasdaqGS: BMY) 4.4%.
“The Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF allows investors to participate in the breakthrough in this well-defined sector in a diversified way,” J. Garrett Stevens, CEO of Exchange Traded Concepts, said in the press release.
A cancer-themed ETF is not new to the ETF industry. Previously, ETF investors could tap into this segment of the biotech industry through the HealthShares Cancer ETF (HHK), but the fund closed in 2008. Additionally, XShares, the fund provider of the HealthShares line, was sold to a unit of Deutsche Bank in 2010.
For more information on new fund products, visit our new ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.