Wednesday's Health Winners & Losers

Shares of Genomic Health(GHDX Quote) jumped 15% to $23.85 after the company said insurer UnitedHealth(UNH Quote) agreed to pay for its Oncotype DX test service for breast cancer patients.

The system is designed to detect the risk of breast cancer recurrence and help predict the benefit of chemotherapy.

Shares of drugmaker Insmed(INSM Quote) jumped 15.5% to $1.19 Wednesday after the company said the Italian Ministry of Health wants to make its drug Iplex available to patients with Lou Gehrig's disease there.

Shares of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals(ABPI Quote) gained 6.3% to $4.20 after an audit of its majority-owned subsidiary Biovest International found that the company accurately disclosed information on the companies' consolidated businesses.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Sanofi-Aventis(SNY Quote) to buy from neutral, citing improved prospects of a legal victory and the expected launch of its obesity drug in the U.S. Shares were up 28 cents to $44.81.

Among other health stock winners Wednesday were Myriad Genetics(MYGN Quote), up 1.9% to $33.07; Quigley(QGLY Quote), gaining 7.9% to $6.43; Sunesis Pharmaceuticals(SNSS Quote), rising 5% to $5.24; Dyax(DYAX Quote), up 4.1% to $3.0; and Vertex Pharmaceuticals(VRTX Quote), rising 3.9% to $35.20.

Among the losers were Polydex Pharmaceuticals(POLXF Quote), whose shares sank 9.7% to $6.45; Dr. Reddy's Laboratories(RDY Quote), falling 3.1% to $17.31; Gentium(GENT Quote), off 1.9% to $17.64; Incyte(INCY Quote), down 3.8% to $6.79; Gilead Sciences(GILD Quote), off 1.2% to $64.22; and Schering-Plough(SGP Quote), falling 1.2% to $23.70.