Health care stocks were rising Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index adding 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.2%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.7%.
In corporate news, Merck (MRK) secured exclusive rights to develop and sell an oral weight loss drug under a license deal with Hansoh Pharma that could fetch the Chinese biopharmaceutical company up to $2 billion. Merck shares were down 0.3%.
Cognition Therapeutics (CGTX) shares surged 67% after it said Wednesday that a phase 2 trial of CT1812 to treat patients with Lewy body dementia met its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability.
KalVista Pharmaceuticals' (KALV) drug candidate sebetralstat is a promising, on-demand oral treatment for hereditary angioedema that demonstrated efficacy comparable to approved injectables with the added convenience of oral dosing in a phase 3 study, BofA Securities said in a note. The firm started coverage of KalVista with a buy rating and a price objective of $22. KalVista shares popped 2.2%.
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