The Readout Loud
STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, breaking down the latest news, digging deep into industry goings-on, and giving you a preview of the week to come.
Episodes
July 17, 2025 • 43 mins
Just how many employees is Sarepta Therapeutics laying off? And why did the Food and Drug Administration reject Ultragenyx’s rare disease drug over manufacturing qualms?
Ultragenyx CEO Emil Kakkis joins us to discuss what was in the rejection letter his company received late last week, and whether he still has confidence in FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. We also discuss Capricor’s drug rejection, and Sarepta’s decision to lay off...
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July 10, 2025 • 25 mins
On this week’s episode of the Readout LOUD: A closer look at the NIH’s grant-cutting legal playbook, a not-so-transparent transparency push by the FDA commissioner, and another big biotech acquisition.
Our colleague Anil Oza joins us to unravel a previously unseen memo he obtained from HHS that lays out the legal framework being used to justify the termination of NIH grants. The disclosure comes as legal fights over the legitimacy...
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June 26, 2025 • 34 mins
We invite STAT’s senior writer for infectious diseases, Helen Branswell, and Washington correspondent Chelsea Cirruzzo on to the podcast to discuss the latest news at the CDC. The agency is in the spotlight once again, after the Senate grilled the potential head of the agency at a confirmation hearing and its federal vaccine advisory committee met for the first time after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired its existing 17 members and inst...
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June 19, 2025 • 30 mins
We discuss the tragic news that a second teenage boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy died after taking Sarepta Therapeutics' gene therapy, raising renewed questions about the FDA's standards for approving drugs.We look at the continued turmoil within the FDA, including the forced dismissal of top gene therapy regulator Nicole Verdun, as well as the announcement of a controversial drug-review voucher program that seems to be steeri...
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June 12, 2025 • 45 mins
First, we chat about how pharma companies still don’t have much clarity on Trump’s most-favored nation drug pricing policy, biotech’s next big takeout target, and more. Then we bring on Kathryn Edwards, a vaccine expert and a former member of the CDC advisory panel, to parse through the turmoil.
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June 5, 2025 • 33 mins
The FDA has rolled out an internal AI tool called Elsa that, unlike its namesake Disney character, can’t seem to let go of mistakes. Our colleague Brittany Trang joins to explain. And it’s always a fun podcast when we can discuss a biotech acquisition. This week, we’ll chat about Sanofi’s $9 billion offer for Blueprint Medicines. But first, our cohost Elaine Chen has a new story published this week that examines the reasons behind ...
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May 29, 2025 • 36 mins
The American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, kicks off its annual meeting this weekend in Chicago. We discuss what to watch at the meeting. Then, STAT’s infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell joins us to discuss RFK Jr.’s unprecedented move to strike Covid shot recommendations, and the cancellation of a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop, test and license vaccines for subtypes of flu. We also welcome chronic ...
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May 22, 2025 • 41 mins
We chat about M&A deals picking up, leadership changes at Novo, and recent FDA advisory committee meetings for cancer drugs. We also bring on STAT reporter Jason Mast to talk about the latest research and sentiment at the annual American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy meeting.
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May 15, 2025 • 25 mins
We chat about the mixed sentiment in biotech markets these days and a new blood-testing company formed by Elizabeth Holmes' husband. We also bring on STAT's D.C. correspondent Daniel Payne to talk about President Trump's "most-favored nation" drug pricing policy and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent congressional hearing.
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May 8, 2025 • 26 mins
Matt Herper joins Adam and Allison to examine Prasad's appointment and the band of outsiders now in charge of U.S. health agencies. He and Adam debate just how disruptive Prasad's tenure could be.
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May 1, 2025 • 35 mins
On this week’s episode of the Readout LOUD, we review President Trump’s first 100 days, the return of biotech M&A, strong drug launches, and Eli Lilly’s PBM problem.
The first 100 days of the Trump administration have had a profound impact on federal health agencies, medical research, health policy and the biotech and pharmaceuticals industries. To help us make sense of all the cuts and policy shifts, we talk with STAT editors Gi...
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April 24, 2025 • 31 mins
How did Ireland become a hotspot for pharmaceutical manufacturing? What are the products that will come out of Flagship's latest startup centered around "preemptive medicine"? And who among the co-hosts is the best singer?
We discuss all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. We chat about the recent bounceback in biotech stocks, disappointing results from Bristol Myers Squibb's schizoph...
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April 10, 2025 • 40 mins
John Crowley, the CEO of industry lobbying group BIO, joins us to discuss the layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration, RFK Jr.'s comments on Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine, and how the trade group is communicating with the Trump administration. Then we discuss the latest news on the stock market and a congressional advisory group's recommendation that $15 billion be invested in U.S. biotechnology to ward off encroaching competition...
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April 3, 2025 • 31 mins
STAT’s FDA reporter Lizzy Lawrence joins to discuss her inside-the-agency reporting on how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. forced top FDA officials to resign at a time when newly sworn-in FDA Commissioner Makary is still figuring out how to get around the agency’s White Oak campus in suburban Maryland. Then: AstraZeneca presented positive mid-stage results this week on a PCSK9 pill that dramatically lowered cholesterol levels on top of tradi...
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March 27, 2025 • 31 mins
Adam, Elaine, and Allison discuss the Trump administration’s plan for huge job cuts and a restructuring of the country’s top health care agencies, the approval of the first drug to treat a devastating rare disease, and the bankruptcy of 23andMe. Then, they bring on the chief executive of startup Altis Labs to discuss new data from a study they conducted with AstraZeneca on an AI tool for cancer drug development.
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March 20, 2025 • 42 mins
We chat about positive data from Immunovant's autoimmune drug candidate, a patient death linked to Sarepta's gene therapy, and dispatches from our STAT Breakthrough Summit East in New York. We also bring on Zealand Pharma CEO Adam Steensberg to talk about his company’s amylin-targeting obesity treatment, the partnership deal it recently signed with Roche, and his thoughts on the industry's intense focus on weight loss.
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March 13, 2025 • 31 mins
We bring on our colleague Sarah Owermohle to discuss the White House's sudden move to withdraw the nomination of Dave Weldon as its pick to run the CDC just hours before Weldon's confirmation hearing. It's also the five-year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. We chat with Princeton political scientist Frances Lee about a new book she co-authored that offers an unflinching assessment of the U.S. policy responses to the pandemic a...
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March 6, 2025 • 25 mins
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.
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February 27, 2025 • 32 mins
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.
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February 20, 2025 • 41 mins
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.
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