RFK Jr. pledges to divest interests in CRISPR Tx, Dragonfly if HHS role confirmed

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be pulling his investments from two biotechs if he is confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

As health secretary, RFK Jr. said he would divest interests in several companies—including CRISPR Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics—within 90 days, according to a Jan. 21 disclosure letter filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Other companies on the list include Amazon and Apple.

The HHS nominee owns between $1,001 and $15,000 in CRISPR Tx and doesn’t make any income from the investment in the gene editing biotech, according to a separate disclosure filing (PDF). As for immunotherapy company Dragonfly, RFK Jr. has invested between $15,001 and $50,000 in dividends and brings in money ranging from $1,001 to $2,500 a year, according to the documents.

In the letter, RFK Jr. confirmed that he will avoid personal and substantial participation that directly financially impacts any of the entities until he has fully divested from the companies.

Most of RFK Jr.’s income comes from work as a partner at his law firm, Kennedy & Madonna, which changed its name to Madonna & Madonna on Jan. 13. He brought in about $8.8 million annually from the law firm, per the disclosure.

The Trump nominee has not yet been scheduled to appear in front of the Senate for his confirmation hearing. The Washington Post reported that the scheduling was delayed because the Senate is still sorting through RFK Jr.’s financial disclosures.

In the meantime, Dorothy Fink, M.D., has been appointed to serve as acting HHS secretary.