Healthcare stocks were mixed premarket Friday, with the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) up 0.4% and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) 0.7% lower.
GSK (GSK) shares were down more than 3% after the company said it will discontinue development of camlipixant for refractory chronic cough after the drug produced mixed results in the phase 3 CALM-1 and CALM-2 trials.
Novartis (NVS) shares were up more than 1% after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration approved Fabhalta under the traditional approval pathway to slow kidney function decline in adults with primary immunoglobulin A nephropathy at risk of disease progression.
Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) shares were 0.6% higher after the company said new phase 3 data showed its oral TYK2 inhibitor, zasocitinib, delivered high rates of skin clearance across difficult-to-treat body sites in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.