Health-care companies slipped as a bias for high-risk sectors offset a boost from deal activity.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals agreed to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences for $4.9 billion in cash, bolstering its portfolio on kidney diseases, the latest in a wave of health-care deals.

Among other deals in the last couple of months, health-care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson struck a $13.1 billion deal to buy heart-disease device maker Shockwave Medical; Danish biotechnology company Genmab agreed to buy cancer-drug maker U.S. ProfoundBio for $1.8 billion; and Swiss drug maker Novartis agreed to buy MorphoSys for about $2.9 billion.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-11-24 1717ET