Healthcare stocks were slightly higher Friday afternoon with the NYSE Healthcare Sector Index climbing 0.3% and shares of healthcare companies in the S&P 500 slipping about 0.2% as a group.
In company news, Mylan Inc. ( MYL ) was ending higher Friday, with shares of the drugmaker climbing about 0.4% and the company saying a federal court made a mistake backing a regulatory decision that will allow a rival to exclusively sell a version of Pfizer's ( PFE ) Celebrex painkiller for six months.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia today upheld a Food and Drug Administration decision granting Teva ( TEVA ) 180 days of exclusivity to sell the generic form of Celebrex. TEVA and PFE had reached a settlement in their dispute over generic sale of the drug in April.
But MYL has challenged the FDA decision and today said the court "seriously erred" in siding with the agency. MYL said it now plans to review its options, including pursuing an expedited appeal.
MYL shares were up 0.4% at $49.93 apiece in late trade, earlier climbing to a session high of $50.40 a share. TEVA was narrowly lower this afternoon, slipping about 0.1% to $50.63 a share while PFE was ahead 0.2% at $29.67 a share.
In other sector news,
(+) RTRX, Inks U.S. license for Mission Pharmacal's tiopronin kidney-stone medication for undisclosed sum. Raises FY14 revenue outlook by $40%. Also increases expected FY15 revenue and forecasts FY15 EPS of $0.75 to $1.25.
(-) DARA, Prices $12.5 mln public offering of Series C-1 preferred stock convertible into 11.26 mln shares of common stock at $1.11 apiece. Investors also received warrants to buy another 11.26 mln shares exercisable at $1.67 each.
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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.
