01:53 PM EDT, 05/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were higher Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index rising 1.5% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) climbing 1.6%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 1.3%.

In corporate news, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) received approval from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for guselkumab to treat Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The shares rose 1%.

Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) stock fell 3% after the Danish drugmaker said Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen agreed to step down amid market challenges and share price declines.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical ( BMRN ) agreed to buy Inozyme Pharma ( INZY ) for $270 million. Inozyme shares more than doubled, and BioMarin rose 1.9%.