The Readout Loud

Will Marty Makary be confirmed as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration? Will he bring back employees laid off by DOGE? And what did he get wrong during his confirmation hearing? We discuss all that and more during this week's special episode.

It’s a STAT reporter two-fer guest episode. First, Lizzy Lawrence joins from D.C. to dish on the upheaval and drama taking place at the FDA. Then, we chat with Jason Mast about Bluebird Bio, its fire sale to private equity and what lies ahead for the unsettled world of genetic medicines. Before those discussions, Allison provides some insight into the “new kids” on the biotech VC block.

Mizuho analyst Jared Holz joins to discuss Adam's column on biotech's dark period. We also talk about Elaine's latest article on the push for greater and greater weight loss from obesity drugs, along with developments at Solid Biosciences and federal job cuts.

We bring on biotech reporter Jonathan Wosen to discuss the NIH's decision to dramatically cut funding for overhead costs paid to research institutions and the potential implications for U.S. biomedical innovation. We also chat with health tech reporter Brittany Trang about the claims that two drug developers, Absci and Generate:Biomedicines, have made about the capabilities of their artificial int...

We bring on our colleague Jason Mast to discuss the dramatic downturn in the once-swaggering field of CRISPR gene editing. We also talk about the advancement of RFK Jr.'s nomination to be HHS secretary, the latest pharma earnings, and the approval of a non-opioid pain drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Our colleague Rachel Cohrs Zhang joins us to break down RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearings, including some contentious questions about vaccines and autism from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). But first, we chat about Akero Therapeutics and the results reported this week from a study of its experimental drug that showed, for the first time, reversal of cirrhosis in patients with...

We go over our closing thoughts from the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, including the chatter around Chinese drugs and a surprise run-in with a past cohost. Then, STAT's infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell joins us to explain the implications of Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the WHO.

We're live at the J.P Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco! We bring on Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks for a wide-ranging conversation about his views on the incoming Trump administration, the effects of Medicare's drug price negotiation, Lilly's recent disappointing guidance, pricing of the company's obesity medication Zepbound, and more. We also discuss the latest news from the J.P. Morgan co...

We chat about how pharmaceutical companies are navigating a looming patent cliff. We also talk about yet another obesity startup and a failed study from Google’s secretive anti-aging company Calico.

STAT's FDA reporter Lizzy Lawrence joins us to discuss her profile of Marty Makary, Trump's nominee for FDA commissioner. Then, we discuss the results of Vertex's latest pain drug trial, the medication launches to watch in 2025, and present our burning questions for the biopharma industry.

Washington correspondent John Wilkerson joins to discuss why drugmakers have not lobbied against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, despite his repeated criticisms of the pharmaceutical industry. We also bring on our colleague Jason Mast to talk about the major hurdles in the field of gene therapy and how one father is trying to overcome them.

You might not be paying attention, or maybe you just hope it goes away. We’re referring to the serious bird flu outbreak that started a bit more than eight months ago. Well, bird flu is still here and the number of reported cases in people is growing. STAT’s infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell joins us for an update. But first, we break down the results from a GLP-1 showdown study that com...

Atlas Venture Partner Bruce Booth joins the podcast to discuss his annual year in review report, the influence of China, and what the new Trump administration might mean for innovation. Adam and Allison also recap the latest news in the life sciences, including a new science chief at Pfizer, a new job for Ned Sharpless, and the ongoing presidential appointments.

Why are AbbVie executives feeling the M&A blues? What does it take to slice $12 billion from Amgen’s market value? And why are STAT’s D.C. correspondents working so hard?  We talk about all that and more on this week’s episode of the “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. It’s a “Chatty Cathy” episode! Elaine, Allison and Adam lead off with a discussion about AbbVie’s M&A miscue following the...

To dig into how the election results could affect all things biopharma, we brought on three guests for this episode: Lizzy Lawrence, STAT’s FDA reporter, Baird analyst Brian Skorney, and longtime biotech executive Daphne Zohar.

Adam, Allison, and Elaine get into the Halloween spirit this week, discussing their favorite candies — and Eli Lilly and Pfizer's surprise earnings reports. Then, they discuss what a Trump or Harris presidency could mean for health care and the biopharma industry, and what investors and biopharma executives think about either outcome.

Will an activist investor campaign against Pfizer lead to big changes at the struggling Pharma giant? Why are some experts questioning the regulatory standards used to approve gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy? What’s the difference between Novo Holdings and Novo Nordisk, and will it impact a $16 billion acquisition of Catalent? And what lies ahead for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Ma...

Elaine, Allison, and Adam chat about investors' interest in using CAR-T to treat autoimmune conditions, the latest developments with the supply of Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight loss drug, and the invisible medical groups behind the dozens of telehealth platforms providing GLP-1 drugs. They also look back at STAT's two-day summit that brought together biopharma executives, scientists, policymakers...

First, biotech veteran John Maraganore calls in to discuss his new startup, City Therapeutics, this week's Nobel Prize awards, and the nerdy accolade he just received. Then STAT's Megan Molteni tells us about "CRISPR baby" scientist He Jiankui and his new cryptocurrency financier.

Our colleague Mohana Ravindranath joins us to talk about Micky Tripathi, charged with coordinating how AI is used across different government agencies and more broadly across the health care industry. We also chat about some important biotech study readouts due before the end of the year, a new, well-funded obesity company, and the successful serial CEO running it. Finally, Adam and Allison lament...

We’re excited to share the first episode in a new podcast series on generic drugs from Tradeoffs. It’s called ‘Race to the Bottom,’ and each week the show examines the problems undermining the generic drugs we all rely on — and how we could fix them. Take a listen, and we’ll see you next week.

Our colleague Jonathan Wosen joins us to discuss the recent setbacks and wins in oncology R&D, including Genentech's decision to shut down its cancer immunology group, and the global ambitions of Akeso, the Chinese biotech behind Summit Therapeutics’ recent positive results. We also chat about the latest news in the life sciences, including Pfizer’s sudden announcement to pull its sickle cell drug...

Mizuho analyst Jared Holz joins us to discuss what the Federal Reserve's long-awaited decision to lower interest rates means for biotech stocks and startups. Elaine, Adam, and Allison also discuss the latest news in life sciences, including the use of cannabinoid receptor drugs in weight loss and the Lasker Awards, a.k.a. "America's Nobel."

STAT reporter Matt Herper joins us to break down all the angles of this week's tumultuous week in cancer immunotherapy, including his up-close look at Summit co-CEO Bob Duggan. We also discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including Moderna pruning its pipeline and its spending, plus results from a study that tested a GLP-1 drug in children.

We discuss the next big trend in obesity drug development — treatments that target the amylin hormone. Companies argue that these types of drugs could lead to less nausea and muscle loss, and the first big readout is coming later this year. We also chat about an upcoming presentation from Summit Therapeutics on its cancer drug that beat Merck’s Keytruda, mixed data from Recursion’s lead AI-derived...