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Shares of glucose-monitoring company DexCom jumped nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday afternoon after US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr lauded medical \u201cwearables\u201d and said he would like all Americans to be using the technology within four years.<\/p>\n
Kennedy said in congressional testimony that the health and human services department<\/a> would launch a big advertising campaign to encourage Americans to use wearables \u2014 medical devices that track blood sugar, heart rate, sleep and other vital signs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that wearables are a key to the Maha agenda,\u201d Kennedy<\/a> said, referring to his \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d campaign. \u201cMy vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s comments come amid booming interest in wearables and fitness trackers among consumers and investors. The Food Drug Administration last year made its first approvals of certain continuous glucose monitors, including those sold by DexCom, for individuals without a prescription. Shares in Abbott Laboratories, which also makes CGMs, rose almost 4 per cent following Kennedy\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n \u201cOzempic is costing $1,300 a month,\u201d Kennedy said on Tuesday, referring to the weight-loss drug made by Novo Nordisk. \u201cIf you can achieve the same thing with an $80 wearable it is a lot better for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the Trump administration have ties to wearables businesses. President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to be US surgeon general, Casey Means, co-founded health-monitoring company Levels Health, which has partnered with DexCom for glucose tracking. New York-based Levels has raised funds from venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. Means\u2019s brother, Calley Means, is a top adviser to Kennedy. <\/p>\n San Diego-based DexCom sells adhesive patches that track glucose in real time. Its products are designed for people with diabetes but have become more popular with people interested in tracking their health. <\/p>\n DexCom has partnered with Apple, Garmin and Google to connect their patches with smart devices.\u00a0Google bought fitness tracker Fitbit in 2019 for $2.1bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, DexCom hired lobbying firm Continental Strategy, which employs Katie Wiles, the daughter of Trump\u2019s chief of staff, Susie Wiles.<\/p>\n