Biotech Stocks Tumble as FDA Commissioner Gottlieb to Resign
(Bloomberg) -- Biotechnology stocks sank in late afternoon trading after reports that U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is resigning.
The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, a closely watched gauge of investor sentiment, reversed an intraday rally to fall as much as 0.6 percent. Drugmakers including Incyte Corp., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Nektar Therapeutics, Mylan NV and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. were among those that saw some of the biggest declines.
“One reason the markets don't like this is because he was really universally respected,” Brad Loncar, chief executive officer of Loncar Investments, said by telephone. “In these times, who the FDA commissioner is matters a lot because medicine is constantly changing with new technologies like cell therapies and gene therapies that have the potential to disrupt how medicine is practiced.”
Gottlieb was among those pushing for faster approvals of copycat drugs and touted a brisk pace of generic approvals among options to lower drug prices. He also led a movement toward quicker approvals in biotechnology's fastest-growing fields like gene therapies.
Gottlieb has also championed a movement against youth vaping and teenage tobacco use. Shares of tobacco stocks including Altria Group Inc., Philip Morris International Inc., and British American Tobacco Plc briefly spiked to session highs after his resignation was initially reported by the Washington Post. 22nd Century Group Inc., a company focused on less harmful tobacco products, sank 26 percent in its biggest drop since November 2012.
To be sure, Gottlieb said when he joined the Trump administration two years ago that he intended to only helm the agency for two years.
“These things tend to feel like the most Earth-shattering event when they happen, but I wouldn't worry about it until a short list of replacements comes out,” Loncar said. “The biggest risk here could be the administration's ability to appoint a replacement and get them approved by Congress members.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Bailey Lipschultz in New York at blipschultz@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
