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Heard on the Street: RFK Jr. Is Spooking Obesity Investors Too

Kennedy’s views could make him a foe of the GLP-1 drug class. He has argued that unhealthy food, medicines and water have fueled the rise of chronic disease. On the late-night show "Gutfeld!" last month, Kennedy said that, for a fraction of the cost of putting millions of Americans on GLP-1 drugs, the government could feed them healthy food instead, to solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic.

Lilly and U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk dropped late Thursday, after Politico first reported the nomination, though not as sharply as shares of vaccine-exposed Moderna or Novavax. Novo sold off again Friday, as did Lilly, Pfizer and Moderna.

“Kennedy is critical of the pharmaceutical industry and believes Americans have become too dependent on pharmaceuticals like GLP-1s,” said Chris Meekins, an analyst at Raymond James.

Meekins said he was skeptical Kennedy can be confirmed in the role, but if he is, "Investors may need to forget everything they thought they knew about Republicans and healthcare.”

If Kennedy does get the job, he would take over a department with an annual budget that tops $1.7 trillion. While it isn’t clear how he could alter the trajectory of the GLP-1 market, it won't be positive for the industry to have a powerful government official opposed to it.

On Thursday, Kennedy said, "We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds... to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic.” Whether GLP-1s will be a part of that effort is something he left unsaid.

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-live-11-15-2024/card/heard-on-the-street-rfk-jr-is-spooking-obesity-investors-too-akBx5Ryl5N0I4ewKdKBk