Health Care Up on Deal Hopes -- Health Care Roundup

Shares of health-care companies rose amid hopes of further consolidation in the sector. The biotech niche has been strong in recent sessions as acquisitions by Sanofi and Celgene have revealed the appetite for mid-sized biotech companies among big drug makers.

More broadly, the sub sector has returned to favor as the political heat on it has lessened, according to one strategist.

"Pricing concerns that plagued biotech stocks for much of the last year have largely vanished as the Trump administration hasn't followed through with the price controls promised in the wild 2016 presidential campaign," said Michael Arone, chief strategist for State Street Global Advisors U.S. SPDR unit. "The pricing debate has given way to proposals for regulatory relief, increased competition and value-based pricing. Plus, the new Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has committed to expediting the drug approval process. All this is music to the ears of the biotech industry and their shareholders."

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 24, 2018 16:43 ET (21:43 GMT)