04:05 PM EDT, 09/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were lower late Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index shedding 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) decreasing 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.6%.

In corporate news, UniQure ( QURE ) shares surged over 240% after the company said its phase 1/2 study of AMT-130 to treat Huntington's disease met its primary endpoint.

Alcon's ( ALC ) move to acquire STAAR Surgical ( STAA ) in a $1.5 billion deal is being opposed by Broadwood Partners, which holds about 27.5% of STAAR, according to a Wednesday filing. Alcon ( ALC ) shares were down 0.3%, and STAAR rose 0.8%.

Sanofi ( SNY ) and its Winthrop Industrie unit were ordered by a Paris appeals court to pay a fine of 150.7 million euros ($177 million) in damages to France's National Health Insurance Fund for engaging in anti-competitive practices linked to its Plavix anti-clotting medicine, media outlets reported. Sanofi ( SNY ) fell 1%.

Cidara Therapeutics ( CDTX ) shares jumped 20% after the company said it will start enrolling patients for a phase 3 trial of CD388 by the end of September following its end-of-phase 2 meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration.