10:20 AM EST, 01/31/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were advancing in early morning trading Friday as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) was up 0.7% and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was adding 0.9% recently.

AbbVie ( ABBV ) shares rose 8% after the company reported higher Q4 net revenue.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) shares rose 5.7% in recent trading after it said Friday it has made a reimbursement agreement with National Health Service England for eligible sickle cell disease patients to access the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy, Casgevy. The company also said late Thursday the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Journavx for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe acute pain.

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY ) said the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of Opdivo plus Yervoy as a first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer. The company's shares rose 0.5%.