Trump job for vaccine sceptic RFK Jr hits British pharma giants

Drug companies suffered a share sell-off after Donald Trump nominated Robert F Kennedy Jr, the vaccine sceptic, as head of the US health department.
Shares in Moderna and BioNTech extended losses in pre-market trading in New York on Friday, following drops of 5.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively, while Pfizer fell by 2.6 per cent.
In London, GSK, one of Britain’s two big pharmaceutical companies and a vaccine specialist, was down by 3 per cent at £13.13½p on the London Stock Exchange, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100.
AstraZeneca, Britain’s largest drug company, was down by 2.4 per cent at £100.50, and Croda International, the chemical company, was down by 2.8 per cent at £35.06½p, putting it among the session’s largest fallers.
Investors have been unsettled by the prospect of Kennedy taking a radical and unorthodox approach to regulating the sector. The former Democrat has cast doubts over Covid-19 vaccines and been a critic of the pharmaceutical industry.
If his appointment is confirmed, he will oversee a department running an annual $1.7 trillion budget, about 80,000 employees and 13 operating divisions, including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
In a post on X, Kennedy said: “We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic.”
He told NBC last week that he would not “take away” vaccines.
Trump said: “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation and disinformation when it comes to public health.”
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry trade body whose members include GSK, said in a statement that it wanted “to work with the Trump administration to further strengthen our innovation ecosystem and improve health care for patients”.
It added: “Our industry has long argued the US must do more to address the growing epidemic of chronic disease, which is the biggest driver of health care spending. This will require a comprehensive strategy that includes focusing more on prevention and early intervention; promoting health and wellness; and developing new treatments and cures.”
• Who is RFK Jr? Vaccine sceptic who’ll be in charge of America’s health
Dame Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of GSK, whose vaccines treat shingles, flu and RSV, said last week that it had successfully worked with previous administrations in the US, which was “extremely important to GSK”, with more than half of its business in the country.
She had told the Financial Times global pharma and biotech summit: “Let’s see what happens in terms of who is appointed into what kind of role in the administration.”
Commenting on Kennedy’s “make America healthy again” mantra, she said: “Actually, making America healthy again is a really good idea.”