RXi Makes Russell Index

Worcester-based RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. has been added to the Russell Microcap Index.

RXi will remain on the Russell index for one year. The index is a tool used by investment managers and institutional investors as a benchmark for investment strategies. Inclusion on the index means more exposure in the "investment community," said RXi.

According to Russell, the microcap segment of the U.S. equity market makes up less than 3 percent of the overall U.S. equity market.

Russell is a subsidiary of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., based in Tacoma, Wash.

RXi is led by University of Massachusetts Medical School professor and Nobel Prize winner Craig Mello. The company is developing drugs based on RNAi technology, which is said to silence genes responsible for diseases.