01:59 PM EDT, 10/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks rose Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index up 0.9% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) adding 1%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.6%.

In corporate news, Merck ( MRK ) said it has started construction of a $3 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at its Elkton, Virginia, site. Separately, Merck ( MRK ) reported new long-term data showing the sustained survival benefits of Keytruda in treating non-small cell lung cancer. Shares were up 2.3%.

Cooper (COO) is under pressure from activist investor Jana Partners, which has built a stake in the company and is pushing for strategic alternatives, including a potential merger of its contact-lens business with Bausch + Lomb ( BLCO ) , the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Cooper shares climbed 4.4%, and Bausch + Lomb ( BLCO ) jumped 5.4%.

Kenvue ( KVUE ) shares were down 0.8% after it said Sunday it urged the US Food and Drug Administration to reject a citizen petition for an autism warning on Tylenol, the over-the-counter drug to treat pain and reduce fever, including during pregnancy.