Health care stocks were ending mostly lower this afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index sinking 0.9% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 1%.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.3%.
In company news, Geron (GERN) fell almost 22% after the biopharmaceuticals company late Wednesday disclosed plans for a $175 million public offering of its common shares. Net proceeds will be used to prepare for the commercial launch of Geron's imetelstat therapeutics candidate for patients with lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome, according to the preliminary prospectus.
Organon (OGN) slid 0.4% on Thursday after the women's health company said it made an $8 million strategic investment in Claria Medical, which is developing a laparoscopic device to perform minimally invasive hysterectomies. The deal includes an option for Organon to acquire Claria Medical under certain terms.
ChromaDex (CDXC) rose 4% after the healthy aging company Thursday said Brianna Gerber became its permanent chief financial officer on Jan. 1 after holding the post on an interim basis since August 11.
NovoCure (NVCR) rallied over 68% and Zai Lab (ZLAB) added nearly 42% after the oncology companies Thursday said a combination of NovoCure's tumor treating fields and Zai Lab's immune checkpoint inhibitors showed a statistically significant rise in overall survival in patients with stage four non-small cell lung cancer compared with immune checkpoint inhibitors alone during phase 3 testing. Based on the trial results, NovoCure is now expecting to seek premarket approval for its device from US and European Union regulators during the second half of the year.
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