Why vaccine makers aren't worried about Trump administration cuts
Large and mid-cap vaccine makers are, as of now, unworried about their 2025 pipelines in the face of research funding declines by the Trump administration and a drop in biotech funding.
That's what some of the top vaccine-maker executives told Yahoo Finance this week at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C.
These executives believe there will be no impact from the funding cuts and policies coming down from the Trump administration, while others view it as a four-year storm they will just have to weather before being able to carry on as usual afterward.
"We're in this for the long game. We believe in vaccines, in the value of vaccines, and what they bring to public health. Infectious diseases aren't going to go away, so the need for vaccines is going to remain long-term," said Sally Mossman, head of research portfolio strategy at Sanofi (SNY).
While large-cap pharma companies can fund most of their research and development internally, they have been known to rely on federal funding for the earliest stages of research via partnerships with research agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They also partner with smaller biotech companies and academic research centers.
But that dynamic is drastically changing under the Trump administration.
The NIH has already slashed billions in research funding for top universities and cut funding for one mRNA vaccine study and other studies related to vaccine access and hesitancy. (The trickle-up effect on large caps is yet to be determined.) At the same time, funding for biotech — potential partners or acquisition targets for the big players — is also on the decline as investors continue to lose interest in the post-pandemic world.
The view from executives at Pfizer (PFE), Moderna (MRNA), GSK (GSK), Sanofi, and Merck (MRK)? They'll be fine in the long run.
Each company has between a dozen and two dozen vaccine candidates actively being developed and tested in its pipeline. Despite recent announcements of cuts and key leadership departures at the FDA, the companies have not experienced any disruptions in communicating with the FDA about the progress of these vaccines.
GSK global medical lead for vaccines Rafik Bekkat-Berkani said that paying attention to the (short-term) noise was important, but "whether we need to let this noise dictate what we do, the answer is no."
Sanofi's Mossman noted that as the company focuses on the US versus global markets, one goal is always to ensure a return on investment for whatever vaccine is being developed.
It's no wonder since vaccines make up a good chunk of revenue, even for large-cap pharmaceuticals with diversified portfolios. Among the companies present, UK-based GSK and France-based Sanofi saw vaccines sales account for about 25% of total revenues in 2024. Pfizer counted its top-selling vaccines as 20% of its $64 billion in revenues last year. Merck saw top-selling vaccine sales contribute less than 20% to its $64 billion in revenues.
Moderna is the most heavily reliant on federal funding for some of its pipeline candidates and has only two vaccines on the market: its COVID-19 vaccine and a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults. The two contributed 100% to the company's $3.2 billion in sales last year.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed an interest in eliminating some childhood vaccines due to concerns about their potential impacts on children. That doesn't worry the companies as much, because adult vaccines are a newer and profitable market to target, the executives said.
"I think we have to recognize ... the low-hanging fruit's already (done) to a large degree," Merck associate vice president of vaccines Jeffrey Roberts said.
It's why more novel viruses and diseases are being targeted — and those that have been targeted globally for some time, like Lyme disease. Other areas are in early stages, like a vaccine for acne at Sanofi.
Mossman explained that while some might consider acne an unimportant target, she sees it as a solution to an inflammatory skin problem for about 22 million patients.
Merck's Roberts said the remaining vaccines to target are "tough nuts to crack."
Which is why the group collectively waved off any threats from the Trump administration's moves.
"It comes down to 'Don't worry about the money. If you make something that has value, people are going to value it,'" Roberts said.
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest health industry news and events impacting stock prices

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

31 minutes ago
Asian shares climb after China and the US say they have a framework for seeking a trade deal
TOKYO -- Asian shares mostly rose Wednesday after China and the U.S. said they had agreed on a framework for following up on the trade truce reached last month in Geneva. U.S. futures fell while oil prices edged higher. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 0.6% in afternoon trading to 38,450.76. Data from the Bank of Japan data showed wholesale inflation slowed in May, meaning there might be less pressure for the central bank to raise interest rates in its next policy board meeting. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 24,381.39, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,402.97. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2% to 8,603.70. South Korea's Kospi added 1.0% to 2,900.05. Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,038.81 as the trade talks between the world's two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 42,866.87, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6% to 19,714.99. Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20% below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of tariffs that were so stiff that they raised worries about a possible recession. Much of the rally has been due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.7% of its record set in February. Analysts said that after two days of discussion in London, the late-night agreement reached appeared to be a consensus on what was already agreed upon before. Even so, Trump's approval is still needed. 'So what did 48 hours of talks actually produce? Apparently, a reaffirmation to eventually do what they had already said they would do. If markets were expecting substance, they got process instead,' said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Tuesday evening in London that talks with China were going 'really, really well.' Both the United States and China have put many of their tariffs on each other's exports on pause as talks continue. Still, uncertainty over what is to come is still affecting companies and their ability to make profits. Designer Brands, the company behind the DSW shoe store chain, became the latest U.S. company to yank its financial forecasts for 2025 because of 'uncertainty stemming primarily from global trade policies.' The company, which also owns the Keds, Jessica Simpson and other shoe brands, reported a larger loss for the start of the year than analysts were expecting, and its revenue also fell short of forecasts. CEO Doug Howe pointed to 'persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary' spending, and the company's stock tumbled 18.2%. The uncertainty is moving in both directions, to be sure. A survey released Tuesday of optimism among small U.S. businesses improved a bit in May. 'While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth,' according to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business. Tesla helped to make up for such losses by rising 5.7%. The electric vehicle company has been recovering since tumbling last week as Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded. That raised fear about possible retaliation by the U.S. government against Tesla. Shares that trade in the United States of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 2.6% after the company known as TSMC said its revenue in May jumped nearly 40% from the year earlier. In other dealings early Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.48% from 4.47% late Tuesday. Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 8 cents to $65.06 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 2 cents to $66.89 a barrel. The U.S. dollar rose to 145.08 Japanese yen from 144.84 yen. The euro cost $1.1418, down from $1.1425.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Limestone County 9-year-old one step closer to getting kidney transplant
LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A 9-year-old from Limestone County is one step closer to finding a kidney donor. Last month, News 19 introduced you to Ruger Ennis, a boy who only recently discovered that he was in stage 5 kidney failure and would need a kidney transplant. After years of darkness the Hudson Memorial Bridge has new lights Since our first interview, Ruger went through surgery, celebrated a birthday, and got two pieces of really good news. Tuesday, Ruger and his mom, Haley Schrimsher, were all smiles as they Zoomed from their room at the Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham. They're excited because it's likely their last week in the hospital. 'Hopefully, he gets to come home, except for clinic visits, next Tuesday,' Schrimsher said. Ruger underwent a successful surgery in May to prepare him to receive at-home dialysis. Now, he's almost ready to transition into the new routine. HPD respond to incident on Water Stream Drive believed to be mental health crisis 'It's going to look like 12-hour days at first,' Schrimsher said. 'He'll get hooked on the machine at 5 o'clock and then he'll get off at 5 the next morning, and then when he goes back to school around that time it'll be around 7-hour days.' Although it will be a rigorous dialysis schedule, being back at home will have its perks. Ruger gave a big 'thumbs up' to the idea of going back to school in the fall and seeing his friends and classmates. Ruger is also healthy enough now to have a kidney transplant, once he finds a donor. 'The transplant coordinator said, 'Well, he's got yesses on everything, his labs look beautiful, he's ready for transplant,'' Schrimsher said. He's been on the hunt for a donor for a few weeks now, but Schrimsher said the process has actually moved pretty quickly. She said they have three potential donors, and that they'll do further blood testing in the next week. 'One of them is a Birmingham police officer, one of them works for a Christian-based nursing company, and the other one is a dialysis nurse at Vanderbilt,' Schrimsher said. 'So we're just hoping that one of them is the perfect match.' If they can find that perfect match, Ruger could undergo a transplant by the end of the year. He said he hopes it will happen by Christmas! Schrimsher said she's very hopeful that one of the potential donors will work out, but due to the complicated nature of organ donation, they aren't discouraging others from reaching out. If you're interested in seeing if you could be a donor for Ruger, they encourage you to email LoveLikeRuger@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Institutions own 29% of Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd (KLSE:KOSSAN) shares but private companies control 36% of the company
The considerable ownership by private companies in Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy 53% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders Insiders own 14% of Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Every investor in Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd (KLSE:KOSSAN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 36% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk). Meanwhile, institutions make up 29% of the company's shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. See our latest analysis for Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Kossan Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd is the largest shareholder with 35% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.7% and 5.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Additionally, the company's CEO Kuang Sia Lim directly holds 2.8% of the total shares outstanding. Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful RM608m stake in this RM4.3b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 21% stake in Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. We can see that Private Companies own 36%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company. It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio