Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Gain Wednesday Afternoon

01:45 PM EDT, 10/14/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index rising 2.1% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 2.3%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.7%. In sector news, the US Food and Drug Administration will review its approach to drug development and approvals for rare diseases under a new Rare Disease Framework Initiative, Bloomberg reported. The initiative, being announced Wednesday, aims to develop a system that increases patient input and provides companies with more regulatory clarity, the report said. In corporate news, ImmunityBio's (IBRX) shares jumped past 4% after the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday the company's Anktiva was approved for adults with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. GSK (GSK) is planning up to 1,217 job cuts in Belgium, according to a Google-translated version of a Wednesday report by local newspaper L'Echo. The company has reportedly detailed the plans to unions, while labor negotiations will follow to minimize the number of affected employees. Its shares rose 3.7%. Verastem (VSTM) shares jumped past 5% after it said early data from a trial of VS-7375, a drug targeting KRAS G12D mutations, showed a 50% confirmed response rate in second-line pancreatic cancer and 43% in later-line lung cancer.