Europe's vaccine makers fall as Trump picks RFK Jr to lead top US health agency (updated)

Sartorius AG

15/11/2024 09:50

(Updates with quote, updated share price moves, additional
context)
       LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Shares in European vaccine
makers fell in early trade on Friday after U.S. 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  GSK.L , AstraZeneca
and France's Sanofi  SASY.PA  were down between 2.1%-2.7%.
        Sartorius  SATG.DE , which manufactures glass vials,
fell 4.6%. 
        Bavarian Nordic  BAVA.CO , which makes a vaccine for
mpox, was down almost 17%, also hurt by third quarter results,
and German-listed shares of BioNtech  22UAy.DE , which also has
a U.S. 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. 
    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  .SXDP  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  .STOXX .

 (Reporting by Samuel Indyk; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Alun
John)
 ((Samuel.Indyk@thomsonreuters.com;))