Healthcare stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index down 0.4% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.5%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 0.9%.
In corporate news, Repligen (RGEN) has agreed to acquire BioLife Solutions (BLFS) in a deal valued at about $1.5 billion, the companies said. Repligen shares climbed 2.3%, and BioLife jumped past 6%.
Amgen (AMGN) has agreed to pay $74 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit alleging the company waited too long to disclose it may owe the Internal Revenue Service $10.7 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest, news outlets reported Tuesday. Amgen shares were down 0.1%.
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) shares surged past 20% after the company said its phase 3 clinical studies of plozasiran to treat hypertriglyceridemia met the primary endpoint of triglyceride reduction compared with placebo.
GSK (GSK) shares were fractionally higher after it said Wednesday the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Jideytro, a ROS1-selective inhibitor, to treat adults with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer who have previously received a ROS1 kinase inhibitor.