03:23 PM EDT, 05/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index advancing 1.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 1.3%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was fractionally lower.

In corporate news, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares rose 2.5% after it said Friday that a new analysis from two phase 3 trials showed that its GLP-1 pill Foundayo at all doses tested was linked to "clinically significant" weight loss in adults 65 years old and older with obesity or overweight.

Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) Ozempic and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro are being linked to better cancer outcomes in four new studies, The Wall Street Journal reported. The weight-loss and diabetes drugs suggest they could reduce tumor progression, lower overall chance of death, and avert the risk of developing breast cancer, the report said. Novo shares added 1%.

Merck ( MRK ) said Friday the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of Keytruda, in combination with Padcev, to treat a type of bladder cancer. Merck ( MRK ) shares jumped 5.6%.

Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) shares gained 2.9%. The company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Hepcludex to treat chronic hepatitis delta virus infection in adults without advanced liver scarring, or with compensated cirrhosis, the FDA said Friday.