Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Decline Late Afternoon

03:55 PM EDT, 10/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks fell late Monday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index declining 0.7% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) decreasing 0.3%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.4%. In corporate news, Silence Therapeutics (SLN) shares surged 125% after it agreed to be acquired by Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany, for $1.3 billion in cash. EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (EYPT) shares fell 85%. The company said it plans to cut 53% of its workforce and end its late-stage trials of Duravyu in wet age-related macular degeneration early after the drug failed to meet the primary endpoint. Novartis (NVS) halted its phase 2 study of iptacopan in lupus nephritis due to "strategic considerations," the company confirmed. The shares were down 0.3%. GSK's (GSK) Jemperli immunotherapy received accelerated approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to treat some patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, the FDA said in a Monday statement. GSK shares were steady.