Europe’s vaccine makers fall as Trump picks RFK Jr to lead top US health agency

LONDON: Shares in European vaccine makers fell in early trade on Friday after US President-elect Donald Trump said he had selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously spread misinformation on vaccines, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Vaccine sceptic Kennedy has been criticised for making false medical claims, including that vaccines are linked to autism.

At 0926 GMT, shares in Britain’s GSK, AstraZeneca and France’s Sanofi were down between 2.1%-2.7%.

Sartorius, which manufactures glass vials, fell 4.6%. Bavarian Nordic, which makes a vaccine for mpox, was down almost 17%, also hurt by third quarter results, and German-listed shares of BioNtech, which also has a US listing, were down 9.5%.

“We are not surprised the sector has been under pressure on the potential for RFK Jr. having oversight of the various agencies within HHS (including the FDA, the CDC, NIH, and Medicare/Medicaid) given his previous stated views on the industry,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note.

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Though, they added, “It is difficult to evaluate the exact impact this appointment could have until we have more information on specific policy proposals and priorities of the incoming administration on healthcare and the drug industry,”.

The healthcare sector was the worst performer in early trading, down nearly 2% at its lowest since April, compared with a 0.4% drop in the STOXX 600.