03:34 PM EST, 02/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were softer late Friday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index easing 0.2% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 0.3%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was fractionally lower.

In corporate news, Estrella Immunopharma ( ESLA ) shares climbed 3.4% after it said Friday it has completed the first dose group in an ongoing phase 1/2 trial assessing EB103 in adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.