Monday's Health Winners & Losers

Option Care(OPTN) skyrocketed Monday on merger news as a few other health stocks recorded smaller gains from scattered news during a flat-to-green session.

Walgreen(WAG) will pay $19.50 a share, or some $850 million total, for Option Care, a specialty pharmacy-services company based in Buffalo Grove, Ill. Option Care bolted $3.84, or 25%, to $19.24. Walgreen was up 17 cents, or 0.4%, to $43.70.

Small-cap bio-nanotech company pSivida(PSDV) took off in the opposite direction after announcing that it entered an agreement for a direct offering to sell its Nasdaq-traded American Depositary Shares and warrants to purchase ADSs, including $6.5 million, to Pfizer(PFE).

It estimates the net proceeds from the offering will be $16.3 million after the placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses. Shares of pSivida were down 32 cents, or 21%, to $1.20.

A few other companies had smaller moves to start the week.

San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company Anesiva(ANSV) said Monday that preliminary follow-up data from a phase II study show that osteoarthritis treatment Adlea reduced knee pain for up to 12 weeks and continued to be well-tolerated. The company said it's on track to advance Adlea to a phase II/III trial for osteoarthritis of the knee in addition to late-stage trials in various indications this summer. Anesiva rose 35 cents, or 5.7%, to $6.50.