Abbott, DexCom gain as RFK Jr. promotes wearables

Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) traded higher on Tuesday after Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his agency is launching one of the largest campaigns in history to encourage wearable use among Americans.

“Wearables put the power of health back in the hands of the American people,” RFK Jr. wrote on X, adding, “We’re launching one of the largest HHS campaigns in history to encourage their use—so every American can take control of their health, one data point at a time.”

He repeated the claims during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Tuesday, arguing that some of his friends have “changed their lives” by wearing glucose monitors, the kind of devices marketed by Abbott (NYSE:ABT), DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM), and Medtronic (MDT).

While CGMs can be costly, HHS is “exploring ways of making sure that those costs can be paid for,” Politico reported, quoting RFK Jr as saying during the hearing.

Noting that the popular GLP-1 drug Ozempic from Novo Nordisk (NVO), marketed in the U.S. for diabetes and obesity, can cost more than $1,000 per month, RFK Jr. said, “If you can achieve the same thing with an $80 wearable, it’s a lot better for the American people.”