09:10 AM EDT, 03/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Health care stocks were steady premarket Friday with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) slightly advancing and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) recently inactive.

CureVac ( CVAC ) shares advanced by almost 20% after the company said the European Patent Office upheld a modified version of its mRNA patent after dismissing most of BioNTech's (BNTX) challenge in a case tied to their dispute over vaccine technology.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals ( LXRX ) shares surged past 85% after the company said it signed an exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk (NVO) for LX9851, a drug targeting obesity and associated metabolic disorders, sending shares up more than 94% in premarket activity.

Beam Therapeutics ( BEAM ) shares were up nearly 3% after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration cleared its investigational new drug application for BEAM-302 to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that affects lungs or liver.