Health care stocks added to their midday gains this afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 0.7% while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF (XLV) was up 0.9% in late trade.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology index, however, was slipping 0.2%.
In company news, Spero Therapeutics (SPRO) nearly tripled in value this afternoon, climbing almost 170% shortly before Thursday's closing bell, after announcing an exclusive license agreement with GSK (GSK) to develop Spero's tebipenem HBr drug candidate to treat urinary tract infections. Spero will receive a $66 million upfront payment and is eligible for up to $375 million more in milestone payments plus potential royalties, with GSK also acquiring a $9 million equity stake in Spero under terms of the collaborative agreement. GSK also was 1.3% higher in late trade.
Eli Lilly (LLY) rose by 5% after the US Food and Drug Administration approved its Retevmo cancer medication for use in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors with a rearranged during transfection gene fusion. Lilly shares also were getting a boost Thursday from an UBS upgrade to buy from neutral coupled with a $28 increase in its price target for the company's stock to $363.
Luna Innovations (LUNA) added 2.6% after the optical testing and measurement company Thursday announced a new contract valued at around $14.2 million to supply Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) with photonic subsystems for surgical systems. Intuitive shares were 2.6% lower this afternoon.
To the downside, MediWound (MDWD) dropped over 20% after the tissue-repair company said it plans a $13.3 million direct offering of about 7.6 million shares at $1.75 apiece along with a $17.2 million private placement of nearly 9.9 million pre-funded warrants also priced at $1.75 each. Investors in both deals also will receive an equal number of four-year warrants to buy another share exercisable at $1.93 per share.
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