Health-care companies rose as Covid-19 treatments remained in focus.
Gilead Sciences said late Thursday that a late-stage study of its experimental Covid-19 treatment showed it shortened time to recovery. The drug, remdesivir, was reportedly one of the medications recently prescribed to President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, China will join a global effort to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries, Beijing said Friday, making it the most prominent nation to take part in a World Health Organization initiative that the U.S. has rebuffed.
HCA Healthcare, one of the nation's largest hospital chains, said it would pay back federal pandemic relief, the latest indicator of the $1 trillion hospital sector's rebound from pandemic-inspired disruption caused by suspended surgeries and widespread lockdowns. The Nashville-based company said it would return the roughly $1.6 billion it received from the relief Congress funneled to compensate hospitals and doctors for higher costs and lost revenue in the pandemic.
Write to Amy Pesseto at amy.pesseto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-09-20 1758ET
