03:59 PM EDT, 10/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were steady late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) little changed.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.7%.

In corporate news, Capricor Therapeutics ( CAPR ) shares surged 25% after the firm said it will present the three-year safety and efficacy results from its open-label extension study with its lead asset deramiocel for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) said it's discontinuing a phase 2 field study assessing the efficacy of its investigational antiviral drug mosnodenvir to prevent dengue virus. The shares were 0.1% lower.

Sage Therapeutics ( SAGE ) faces a high-risk outlook as it awaits the year-end phase 2 readout for its Huntington's disease treatment dalzanemdor, RBC said. RBC downgraded the stock to underperform from sector perform and lowered its price target to $4 from $10. Sage shares slumped 5.3%.

A Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) plant has over the past decade repeatedly breached rules meant to keep drugs free from contamination, Reuters reported, citing US Food and Drug Administration documents. Thermo Fisher shares slid 0.3%.