Pharma slides on Robert F Kennedy Jr nomination

Vaccine sceptic: Robert F Kennedy Jr

British and European drugmakers suffered a share price slide yesterday after Donald Trump announced the nomination of vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his health secretary.

FTSE 100 pharma groups AstraZeneca and GSK fell as the president-elect named Kennedy as his pick for the role overseeing the US’s rules on medicine, food safety and public health.

Kennedy has previously been accused by health experts of spreading misinformation about the safety of vaccines, previously referring to Covid-19 jabs as a ‘crime against humanity’ and comparing them to the Holocaust. 

He has also promised to try to remove fluoride from the US water system, upending a long-running consensus among public health officials that it helps prevent tooth decay. Kennedy has previously referred to the natural mineral as ‘industrial waste’ linked to cancer, arthritis and IQ loss.

Shares in AstraZeneca were down 3.1 per cent, or 314p, at 9978p following news of Kennedy’s nomination, and GSK dropped 3.9 per cent, or 52.5p, to 1301p.

Meanwhile, Croda International, which supplies chemicals to make drug formulas, also slipped 3.2 per cent, or 116p, to 3493p. On the continent, French group Sanofi fell 3.3 per cent and Swiss giants Roche and Novartis shed 2.2 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively.

Danish company Novo Nordisk, maker of weight-loss drug Ozempic, also dropped 5.4 per cent on news of Kennedy’s nomination. He criticised the treatment in a New York Times opinion article in September.

On Wall Street, US giant Pfizer fell 4.4 per cent, Moderna dropped 8.9 per cent and BioNTech lost 2.6 per cent late on Thursday after the nomination was announced.

‘The impact [of Kennedy’s nomination] on the sector is hard to judge fully at this stage but, at the very least, it will cause a good deal of uncertainty,’ said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.