Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Flat to Lower Pre-Bell Friday

09:17 AM EDT, 09/18/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks were flat to lower pre-bell Friday, with the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) inactive and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) down 0.4%. Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) shares were down more than 23% after the company voluntarily paused enrollment of new patients in studies for major depressive disorder and bipolar depression. AstraZeneca (AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu has been recommended for approval in the European Union as a monotherapy for the adjuvant treatment of adults with resected HER2 positive breast cancer who have residual disease after neoadjuvant treatment, Daiichi Sankyo said. AstraZeneca stock was 0.7% higher premarket. Merck's (MRK) Keytruda in combination with Padcev as a treatment for adults with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer was granted a positive opinion recommending approval by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the company said. Merck stock was down 0.4% pre-bell.