Shares of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies weakened today on European stock exchanges. This is happening after the news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become the candidate for the Secretary of Health in the next US administration of President-elect Donald Trump. He criticized vaccination in the past, and not only in connection with the covid-19 pandemic. According to the media, he also spread the conspiracy theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.
The index of the European healthcare sector MSCI Europe Health Care weakened by approximately three percent. Shares of German biotechnology company BioNTech shed 3.54 percent to close at 95.50 euros a piece on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company collaborated with the American manufacturer Pfizer on the anti-covid vaccine Comirnaty.
Shares of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi then lost 3.27 percent to 91.31 euros a piece in Paris. British GSK shares on the London Stock Exchange weakened by 3.88 percent to 13.01 pounds apiece.
Prices of American shares from this sector also showed a decline after the start of trading on stock exchanges in the United States. Shortly before 18:30 CET, Pfizer was depreciating by over 4.5 percent and Moderna by over nine percent. US stock markets open at 09:30 EST (15:30 CET) and close at 16:00 (22:00 CET).
The 70-year-old Kennedy, the nephew of former Democratic President John F. Kennedy, ran as an independent for the post of head of state. In the end, however, he withdrew his candidacy and supported Republican Trump. In recent weeks, he has indicated that as minister he wants to focus on the fight against obesity and diabetes or on limiting chemicals in food.
Source: www.tyden.cz
