02:04 PM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks rose Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index gaining 0.4% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) advanced 0.6%.

In corporate news, AstraZeneca ( AZN ) agreed to buy Fusion Pharmaceuticals ( FUSN ) for as much as $2.4 billion. Fusion shares almost doubled, and AstraZeneca ( AZN ) fell 0.2%.

Perrigo ( PRGO ) added 1.4% after Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers directed the state's Department of Health Services to make Opill, an over-the-counter oral contraceptive, available for free to members of the state's Medicaid program.

Enveric Biosciences ( ENVB ) jumped 5.4% after it said Tuesday it signed two non-binding term sheets to out-license cannabinoid-COX-2 conjugate compounds for the treatment of joint diseases to an undisclosed biotech company, potentially yielding milestone payments of $82 million.