Top Health Care Stocks
JNJ +0.43%
PFE +0.41%
MRK +0.48%
ABT +0.31%
AMGN +0.27%
Health care stocks lost ground this afternoon but were holding narrow gains on Friday, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.2% while shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 were up about 0.1% as a group.
In company news, American depositary shares of Shire plc ( SHPG ) rose Friday after federal regulators granted the drugmaker's experimental treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis with a Fast-Track designation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision follows positive Phase I and pre-clinical testing of SHP626. The agency developed its fast-track program to expedite its review process for drugs designed to treat serious and unmet medical conditions. There are currently no approved drugs for the liver disease characterized by accumulation of fat along with organ fibrosis.
Shire said it will soon start Phase II testing of the drug candidate to evaluate its safety and efficacy over a 48-week period in adult patients.
SHPG ADS were up about 1.5% in late trade at $194.32apiece, earlier climbing to a session high of $194.88 a share.
In other sector news,
(+) SNSS, Reports Q2 net loss of $0.12 per share, coming in $0.02 per share above Street view. Revenue falls 33.3% from year-ago levels to $600,000 mln, trailing the $700,000 two-analyst estimate. Well Fargo upgrade to Outperform.
(-) MCRB, SER-109 drug candidate fails to meet primary endpoint of reducing the recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection in patients during ongoing Phase 2 testing.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
