03:28 PM EDT, 06/11/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each adding 1.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 3%.

In corporate news, Adial Pharmaceuticals ( ADIL ) shares surged 45% after it said Thursday it has acquired Azora Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for serious inflammatory diseases.

Novartis ( NVS ) shares gained 4.2% after the company said a phase 1/2 trial of its experimental treatment del-brax met both primary and key secondary endpoints in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) won approval from UK regulators for its Wegovy pill, a daily oral version of semaglutide, for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and a weight-related condition. Novo shares rose 2.8%.

Some employers in the US intend to drop coverage of GLP-1 medications for weight loss in 2027 amid the increasing popularity of Novo Nordisk's ( NVO ) Wegovy and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound and Foundayo, Reuters reported, citing the Business Group on Health, a policy research group for large employers. Lilly shares were up 2.9%.