Health Care Up Amid Deal Activity -- Health Care Roundup

Health-care companies rose slightly amid deal activity in the sector.

Global Blood Therapeutics rose after drug giant Pfizer agreed to buy the maker of treatments for sickle-cell disease for $5.4 billion.

Home health-care provider Signify Health rallied after reports drug-store chain CVS Health had made acquisition overtures.

Medical-device maker Boston Scientific disclosed that it was investigating allegations that it violated U.S. antibribery laws at its operations in Vietnam.

The passage of a bill seeking to cut drug prices by the Senate would remove some clouds on the horizon for the sector, said one money manager.

"We think the ultimate passage of the current drug pricing reforms represents a clarifying event in terms of future industry earnings, removing the risk of more onerous drug pricing that has weighed on biopharma valuations since the drug pricing issue first rose to political prominence in 2015," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at money manager UBS Global Wealth Management.

UniQure lost a third of their value in Monday morning trading after the gene-therapy company reported a setback in its studies of a potential treatment for the fatal brain disorder Huntington's disease.

TOMI Environmental shares surged after the company said its SteraMist disinfection system is effective in providing protection against monkeypox and other pathogens.

Write to Rob Curran at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-08-22 1706ET