World's Best IR Websites™ in the Health Care Sector

	Related: Health Care Companies’ Unhealthy Attitude to Online Investor Communications

Of the 49 companies evaluated over the past six months, only two companies achieved the World's Best IR Websites™ standard. In order of their ranking, they are:

1. Smith & Nephew plc
2. Celesio AG

Companies recognized as having World's Best IR Websites™ have achieved a high ranking after a detailed evaluation in IR Web Report's survey of online investor relations communication practices. Achieving the standard is a strong indicator of a company's commitment to effective online communication with investors.

World's Best IR Websites™ companies provide broad and deep financial, corporate governance, shareholder services and securities trading information on their investor relations websites. Their sites are designed around the needs of investors, uphold good privacy practices and are actively managed and up to date.

Survey constituents
The following companies were included in the survey (in alphabetical order):

Abbott Laboratories
Aetna Inc.
Allergan, Inc.
Altana AG (NYSE:AAA)
Amgen, Inc.
AstraZeneca PLC
Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Biogen Idec Inc
Biomet, Inc.
Biovail Corp.
Boston Scientific Corp.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co.
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Celesio AG
Celgene Corp.
Elan Corp.
Fisher Scientific International Inc.
Forest Laboratories, Inc.
Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS)
Genentech, Inc.
Genzyme Corp.
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
GlaxoSmithKline plc
HCA Inc.
Humana Inc.
Johnson & Johnson
Kyphon Inc.
Eli Lilly and Co.
McKesson Corp.
MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ)
MedImmune Inc.
Medtronic Inc.
Merck & Co.
Novartis AG
Novo Nordisk AS
Pfizer, Inc.
Quest Diagnostics Inc.
Roche Holding
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY)
Schering-Plough Corporation
Shire plc
Smith & Nephew plc
St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ)
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd
UCB Group
WellPoint Inc.
Wyeth (NYSE:WYE)
Zimmer Holdings Inc.

How we choose the sites
IR Web Report inspects more than 500 investor relations websites every six months. Companies in the survey are mostly international large-cap companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Each company's investor relations website is inspected against 134 criteria informed by surveys with institutional and retail investors. The criteria cover financial and corporate governance information, shareholder services, securities trading, news and events, and the ease of use of the site.

From the criteria, we calculate a total score for each company that measures the overall effectiveness and credibility of the site and its information. The formula has four inputs:

• Completeness of the site's content in terms of depth, breadth and timeliness.
  
• Transparency of the site in terms the availability and prominence of high value information.
  
• Service attitude of the site in terms of resources and services offered to shareholders.
  
• Ease of use of the site including navigation, information design and technical formatting.

To be selected as World's Best IR Websites™, companies have to achieve a score over a specific threshold.

Why World's Best IR Websites™?
By recognizing companies with the best IR websites, IR Web Report aims to encourage more companies to use the Web effectively. This can benefit all investors because the Internet has the ability to democratize access to corporate information to give all investors an equal chance to make informed decisions.

Related: Health Care Companies’ Unhealthy Attitude to Online Investor Communications