Kennedy, known as the "anti-vaccine pioneer," strongly opposes GLP-1 drugs, believing they are the wrong approach to addressing the obesity crisis. On Friday, the stock prices of the "weight loss giants" eli lilly and co and novo-nordisk a/s fell by 4.93% and 3.4%, respectively, and other companies dedicated to developing weight loss drugs also suffered heavy losses.
Since eli lilly and co nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the USA, the American pharmaceutical market has experienced a severe volatility, with pharmaceutical stocks plummeting significantly.
On November 16, according to Wall Street saw, Kennedy, known as the 'anti-vaccine pioneer', publicly questioned the experimental mRNA vaccines and challenged the government bureaucratic mechanisms regulating the vaccine industry. He also strongly opposed GLP-1 drugs (used for weight loss and diabetes management), believing that these drugs are the wrong approach to addressing the obesity crisis, advocating for healthy eating instead, stating, 'It's much cheaper than spending thousands of dollars on medications'.
On Friday, the leading companies in the GLP-1 drug field, eli lilly and co and novo-nordisk a/s, saw their stocks decline by 4.93% and 3.4%, respectively. Currently, both companies are working to expand the insurance coverage for their drugs and researching how the medications can provide benefits beyond weight loss, such as treating cardiovascular diseases and sleep apnea.
It is worth noting that Kennedy himself does not have a degree or formal qualifications in the health field, but he takes medical care and what he perceives as the "flaws in the American system" as the cornerstone of his presidential campaign, attributing the increase in chronic diseases to unhealthy foods, unnecessary medications (including certain vaccines), and fluoridated water.
His stance has directly impacted the pharmaceutical market. In addition to the 'weight-loss duo', other companies dedicated to developing weight-loss drugs have also suffered heavy losses, with viking therapeutics' stocks dropping by 7.45%, exceeding expectations of the Phase I trial results of the oral weight-loss drug announced by the company in early November.
Amgen's stocks fell by 4.16%, as the company is developing an experimental drug named MariTide, stating that it expects to provide data from the phase two trial later this year.
Structure Therapeutics' stock fell by 9.34%. The company is expected to start the second phase trial of its oral GLP-1 drug GSBR-1290 this quarter.
Scholar Rock Holding Corp's stock fell by 3.67%. The company is developing two drugs, apitegromab and SRK-439, aimed at reducing muscle loss during rapid weight loss.
Additionally, stocks of Zealand Pharma dropped by 10.11%, as the company is developing an experimental drug named petrelintide, a long-acting amylin analog that has been shown to increase satiety and may have fewer gastrointestinal side effects than GLP-1 class drugs.
Terns Pharmaceuticals' stock fell by 5.8%. The company is also developing an oral weight loss drug and announced that the Phase 1 trial has achieved significant weight loss effects statistically.