03:38 PM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks advanced late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 1% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.9%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 1%.

In corporate news, Verastem ( VSTM ) shares surged 12% after it said Friday the first person had been dosed in a phase 1/2 trial conducted by GenFleet Therapeutics in China to assess candidate drug GFH375/VS-7375 in patients with advanced KRAS G12D mutant solid tumors.