Robert Kennedy touts health ‘wearables’, leading glucose tracker shares higher

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.Shares of glucose-monitoring firm DexCom jumped almost 10 per cent Tuesday afternoon after US well being secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr lauded medical “wearables” and mentioned he would really like all People to be utilizing the know-how inside 4 years.Kennedy mentioned in congressional testimony that the well being and human companies division would launch an enormous promoting marketing campaign to encourage People to make use of wearables — medical units that observe blood sugar, coronary heart price, sleep and different very important indicators.“We predict that wearables are a key to the Maha agenda,” Kennedy mentioned, referring to his “Make America Wholesome Once more” marketing campaign. “My imaginative and prescient is that each American is sporting a wearable inside 4 years.”Kennedy’s feedback come amid booming curiosity in wearables and health trackers amongst customers and buyers. The Meals Drug Administration final yr made its first approvals of sure steady glucose displays (CGM), together with these bought by DexCom, for people with no prescription. Shares in Abbott Laboratories, which additionally makes CGMs, rose nearly 4 per cent following Kennedy’s feedback.“Ozempic is costing $1,300 a month,” Kennedy mentioned on Tuesday, referring to the weight-loss drug made by Novo Nordisk. “For those who can obtain the identical factor with an $80 wearable it’s a lot higher for the American individuals.”Members of the Trump administration have ties to wearables companies. President Donald Trump’s decide to be US surgeon normal, Casey Means, co-founded health-monitoring firm Ranges Well being, which has partnered with DexCom for glucose monitoring. New York-based Ranges has raised funds from enterprise agency Andreessen Horowitz. Means’s brother, Calley Means, is a high adviser to Kennedy. San Diego-based DexCom sells adhesive patches that observe glucose in actual time. Its merchandise are designed for individuals with diabetes however have grow to be extra standard with individuals fascinated about monitoring their well being. DexCom has partnered with Apple, Garmin and Google to attach their patches with good units. Google purchased health tracker Fitbit in 2019 for $2.1bn.Earlier this month, DexCom employed lobbying agency Continental Technique, which employs Katie Wiles, the daughter of Trump’s chief of workers, Susie Wiles.Finland-based wearables firm Oura Well being has additionally been hiring lobbyists. Oura, which sells a hoop that tracks sleep and very important indicators, in April employed Ballard Companions, which has shut ties to Trump. This month, Oura disclosed it had employed its first in-house lobbyist.In December, Oura mentioned it raised $200mn, rising its valuation to $5.2bn. As a part of the fundraising, DexCom mentioned it invested $75mn in Oura and introduced a partnership in order that glucose knowledge would move between each merchandise.DexCom and Oura didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.