“Big Pharma” actions fell this morning following the announcement that the president-elect Donald Trump has named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as U.S. Secretary of Health in his next administration.
GSK PLC and AstraZeneca PLC came under pressure as alarmed investors reacted to news of the potential influential role of vaccine skeptics.
Globally, pharmaceutical companies reacted negatively to the news, with Germany’s Roche and Denmark’s Novo Nordisk falling.
Additionally, Moderna Inc and Pfizer stocks are also looking to open lower in pre-market trading before trading begins on Wall Street.
As of Thursday afternoon, Pfizer saw a decline of about 57 cents, while Moderna stock saw its price decline by $2.64.
Notably, both companies were involved in the development of Covid-19 vaccines whose rollout Kennedy criticized.
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Kennedy is a known “vaccine skeptic” and is likely to be Trump’s new health secretary.
GETTY/PA
Medical professionals have criticized Kennedy for his different positions on public health. In his role, the ex-Democrat will lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which regulates vaccines.
He has previously pledged to rein in pharmaceutical companies and regulators as part of his efforts to “make America healthy again.” His nomination is subject to approval by the Senate, which should have a Republican majority.
In recent years, Kennedy has fought back against state vaccine mandates and claimed the Trump administration would ban public water supplies with fluoride, which is used to strengthen teeth.
After the election, he said he had no plans for a total ban on vaccines. However, a Trump White House could change the rules about which vaccines are recommended to insurers, which would impact access.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, warned that pharmaceutical companies on both sides of the Atlantic were seeing their shares take a hit.
He explained: “Pharmaceutical stocks left the FTSE 100 looking sickly on Friday morning as shares in AstraZeneca and GSK came under pressure.
“The impact on the sector is difficult to fully assess at this stage but, at the very least, it will create a lot of uncertainty.
“The latest UK GDP figures demonstrate the chilling effect of a fiscal buildup filled with warnings about tough decisions. The government’s gloomy messages have proven to be a self-fulfilling prophecy as growth has slowed significantly.”
Pharmaceutical companies are expected to open lower when Wall Street markets open, according to premarket trading.
Reuters
The former third party candidate is a prominent figure in the anti-vaccine movement. Although he claims to support vaccines that are being tested and studied, Kennedy has falsely claimed that they cause autism in children.
During a visit to Samoa in 2019, candidate Trump perpetuated claims that the MMR vaccine was responsible for the deaths of two infants. Both had received a muscle relaxer and the vaccine by mistake.
Critics said his promotion of vaccine hesitancy in the country contributed to Samoa’s measles outbreak in 2019, which killed more than 70 people.
Kennedy also claimed that there was no link between AIDS and HIV, argued that the Chinese and Jews are the most immune to Covid-19, and claimed that “a worm got into my brain and ate part of it.”