Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Climb Late Afternoon
Healthcare stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index climbing 3.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) rising 3%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 2.6%.In corporate news, Eli Lilly (LLY) shares gained 4.3% after Ascidian Therapeutics said Lilly will receive exclusive, target-specific rights to Ascidian's RNA exon editing technology for undisclosed kidney disease targets in exchange for up to $1.9 billion under a research partnership and licensing deal.Merck (MRK) shares climbed 5% after it said Thursday it will pay over $50 million to settle more than 200 lawsuits that blame the drugmaker's Gardasil cancer vaccine for causing autoimmune ailments in young women, Bloomberg reported.The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Amarin (AMRN) failed to prove that a generic-drug manufacturer actively induced other companies to infringe upon two of its Vascepa patents after the generic maker received approval for a so-called "skinny-label" version of the drug. Amarin shares fell 4.4%.BofA Securities upgraded UnitedHealth (UNH) to buy from neutral as medical cost trends improve and "supportive" near-term data points form a favorable Q2. UnitedHealth shares rose 5.4%.