Ambit to be Added to Russell MicroCap® Index on June 28, 2013

SAN DIEGO, June 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambit Biosciences Corporation (Nasdaq: AMBI) announced today that the company will be added to the Russell MicroCap® Index, effective at close of business on June 28, 2013.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. Russell calculates more than 700,000 benchmarks daily covering approximately 98 percent of the investable market globally, 80 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $4.1 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.

Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to create the Russell 3000® Index and Russell Microcap Index. Membership in the Russell MicroCap® Index remains in place for one year. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.

About Ambit Biosciences       
Ambit is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs to treat unmet medical needs in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by inhibiting kinases that are important drivers for those diseases. Ambit's lead drug candidate, quizartinib (AC220), is a once-daily, orally-administered potent and selective, inhibitor of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) and is currently under clinical development in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in newly diagnosed AML patients in combination with chemotherapy as well as maintenance following a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In addition to quizartinib, Ambit's clinical pipeline includes AC410, an oral JAK2 inhibitor, and CEP-32496, a BRAF inhibitor licensed to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Ambit's preclinical portfolio includes a proprietary CSF1R inhibitor program.       

Forward-Looking Statements       
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks that could affect Ambit are described in Ambit's SEC filings.

Contacts:       
Ian Stone or David Schull (Media)        
Russo Partners                  
(619) 308-6541                  
(212) 845-4271               
ian.stone@russopartnersllc.com               
david.schull@russopartnersllc.com             

Robert Flamm, Ph.D. (Investor)              
Russo Partners               
(212) 845-4226                         
Robert.flamm@russopartnersllc.com

SOURCE Ambit Biosciences