Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Higher Late Afternoon
Healthcare stocks rose late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each adding 1.4%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 3%.In corporate news, Adial Pharmaceuticals (ADIL) shares surged 45% after it said Thursday it has acquired Azora Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for serious inflammatory diseases.Novartis (NVS) shares gained 4.2% after the company said a phase 1/2 trial of its experimental treatment del-brax met both primary and key secondary endpoints in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.Novo Nordisk (NVO) won approval from UK regulators for its Wegovy pill, a daily oral version of semaglutide, for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and a weight-related condition. Novo shares rose 2.8%.Some employers in the US intend to drop coverage of GLP-1 medications for weight loss in 2027 amid the increasing popularity of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY) Zepbound and Foundayo, Reuters reported, citing the Business Group on Health, a policy research group for large employers. Lilly shares were up 2.9%.