01:53 PM EDT, 08/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were retreating Friday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index falling 0.1% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) down 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.7%.

In corporate news, MediciNova ( MNOV ) shares jumped past 11% after it said late Thursday that its drug MN-166 was due to receive a US patent.

BridgeBio Pharma ( BBIO ) shares surged over 13% after the company said that additional data from a phase 3 study of acoramidis in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy or ATTR-CM showed that switching from standard of care treatment and placebo to acoramidis increased serum transthyretin at the first month.

NuCana ( NCNA ) shares plunged 48% after it said late Thursday it's discontinuing phase 2 testing of its NUC-3373 drug candidate to treat colorectal cancer.