A Senate committee will vote Thursday on whether to endorse Dr. Marty Makary as the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

The outcome carries a potentially enormous impact on biotech stocks. If Makary passes muster with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the confirmation decision will head to the full Senate.

Makary is a pancreatic cancer surgeon and health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins. He has gained widespread notoriety for speaking out about medical errors. He has also appeared on Fox News and argued for the benefits of natural immunity to Covid vs. vaccinations.

In a November report, analysts with RBC Capital Markets said Makary's views seem to overlap with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s. Kennedy was recently confirmed as the new health secretary. The duo are most likely to focus on nutrition, chronic disease, overmedication and the industrialization of food and pharmaceuticals, they wrote.

While Makary is less apt to dismantle the FDA, "it seems likely that he would evolve the agency toward a more industry-unfriendly stance," they said. This would be "negative for biopharma."

Will Marty Makary Align With RFK Jr.?

Biotech stocks hit a 2025 high on Feb. 5. Since then, the industry group of more than 700 companies has dropped off about 10% as of midday trades on Thursday.

The dive follows the confirmation of RFK Jr., but also a broader market pullback after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China.

Kennedy is a well-known vaccine skeptic, saying recently he believes vaccines don't undergo enough safety testing. Experts say that's a baseless claim.

Still, there are already signals that RFK Jr. could look to change vaccine policies. The Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly considering pulling the $590 million it granted Moderna (MRNA) — prior to Kennedy's confirmation — to develop a bird flu vaccine. The FDA also unexpectedly canceled the annual meeting to select the strains for this year's flu shots.

Natural Immunity Vs. Covid Vaccines

But Makary will be in charge of vaccines as the FDA head.

Early in the pandemic, Makary wrote in support of widespread vaccinations, including for older people and those at risk. But in 2022, he criticized the medical establishment for ignoring the benefits of natural immunity — i.e., contracting the virus and then naturally developing antibodies.

"Vaccines were wasted on those who didn't need them, and people who posed no risk lost jobs," he said in a January 2022 opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal.

Marty Makary And Chronic Diseases

As part of his writings, Makary has also criticized the medical system for overmedicating patients and not focusing enough on the underlying cause of chronic diseases. Further, he has expressed concern about weight-loss drugs, noting the potential for patients to lose lean muscle mass.

He has also written about the overuse of antibiotics in children and the "poisoned" food supply. He pointed to both as a cause of chronic disease.

"Diseases are rapidly causing widespread suffering," he said in an October 2024 post on X, linking to a podcast from comedian Joe Rogan. "More meds are not the answer."

RBC analysts, though, say this is too simplistic of a view.

"We believe this is somewhat of a misleading distortion, as this is likely at least in part from improved screening for diseases such as cancer, mental health disorders and genetic illnesses — innovative treatments for which have helped meaningfully increase the overall U.S. (life) expectancy over the past 50 years," they wrote.

Eyeing The Food Supply

Like Kennedy, analysts expect Makary to focus on the food supply. In an October post on Instagram, he pointed to ingredient differences between products like Fruit Loops and McDonald's (MCD) fries in the U.S. and other countries.

"They have the food scientists that have figured out how to put more chemicals to make them more addictive in the United States," he said. "Don't American kids deserve the healthier version of food that American companies make?"

Follow Allison Gatlin on X/Twitter at @AGatlin_IBD.

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