09:12 AM EDT, 03/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks declined premarket Monday with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) 0.3% lower and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) down 0.9% recently.

Avidity Biosciences Inc ( RNA ) shares advanced by over 3% after the company said topline data from the phase 1/2 EXPLORE44 trial of del-zota to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy showed "consistent, statistically significant improvements in dystrophin, exon skipping and creatine kinase."

Dyne Therapeutics ( DYN ) shares were up over 4% after the company said long-term clinical data from an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial of its investigational drug DYNE-251 is showing a "clinically meaningful and sustained functional improvement" in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Novartis ( NVS ) is tracking the Trump administration's proposed reciprocal tariff policy "very carefully" and will respond accordingly once the policy is implemented next month, Reuters reported, citing Novartis ( NVS ) Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan. Novartis ( NVS ) shares were over 1% higher pre-bell.