Before endorsing Trump, Kennedy had mounted a failed bid for the presidency himself as a third party candidate. That campaign spotlighted calls for increased restrictions on food chemicals and dyes, cutting ultra-processed foods from school lunches and forcing drug companies to share more information about vaccines.
If his nomination is ratified by the Senate and he is empowered to act on his pledges, it would mark a change in approach, not only from the Biden administration but from Trump’s first term, which saw the government pour money into helping firms develop Covid vaccines, while taking a hands-off approach to regulation.
However, Trump also drew alarm in the industry with efforts to lower drug prices, including by making it easier to import medicine from Canada.
In opening trade on Friday, shares in Pfizer and Moderna tumbled more than 5%, accelerating their slide after dropping about 2% on Thursday.
In Europe, Danish-listed shares of Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk were on track to close more than 4% lower, while France’s Sanofi, a leader in flu vaccines, saw its shares in Paris slide more than 3%.
In London, shares in GSK slid about 4% and AstraZeneca fell roughly 2.6%.
Asked for comment about the pick, Steve Ubl, head of the US trade association for pharmaceutical manufacturers, defended the industry, noting its success fighting disease such as polio and smallpox and its major role in the economy.
“We want to work with the Trump administration to further strengthen our innovation ecosystem and improve healthcare for patients,” he said in a statement, without mentioning Kennedy by name.
He called on policymakers to focus on addressing chronic disease with prevention and reforming America’s complicated health system to make medicine more affordable.
Source:
www.bbc.com
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