US drugmakers saw their stocks tank on Thursday and Friday following the announcement that former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr is president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy has faced widespread criticism for his baseless claims that some vaccines are not safe and effective and that they’re linked to autism. He has said that he will institute a purge at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that he will remove fluoride from the public water supply and take measures to limit ultra-processed food.