The Readout Loud

STAT

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.

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416 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes416

Newest first

May 8, 2025 · 26 min
352: A firebrand takes oversight of vaccines, gene therapies
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.
May 1, 2025 · 35 min
351: It's gonna be May (in biotech)
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 Gideon Gil and Zach Tracer for their perspective overseeing STAT’s reporting on science and politics. But first, your co-hosts Elaine, Allison and Adam gab about the week’s relatively positive biotech news, including two acquisitions and a series of strong drug launches. What’s a podcast without dipping into obesity, so Elaine will explain the latest maneuverings between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk around patient access and compounding.
Apr 24, 2025 · 31 min
350: Pharma tariffs, and a 'sunshine day' for biotech stocks
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 schizophrenia drug Cobenfy, new allegations about entrepreneur Sam Waksal, and more. We also bring on STAT's European correspondent Drew Joseph to talk about the growth of pharma manufacturing in Ireland and how U.S. tariffs would impact global drug supply.
Apr 10, 2025 · 40 min
349: BIO's John Crowley on RFK Jr. and tariffs, plus calls for more federal biotech funding
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 from China.
Apr 3, 2025 · 31 min
348: Cuts, ousters and drama at the FDA
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 traditional statins. R&D executive Sharon Barr joins to talk about why AstraZeneca views this experimental cardiovascular medicine as a key part of its growth strategy.
Mar 27, 2025 · 31 min
347: More HHS upheaval, 23andMe's bankruptcy, and AI for cancer survival
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.
Mar 20, 2025 · 42 min
346: Zealand's obesity strategy and Immunovant's curious development plan
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.
Mar 13, 2025 · 31 min
345: The sudden withdrawal of a CDC nominee and what went wrong with Covid policies
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 and raises some provocative questions about what went wrong.
Mar 6, 2025 · 25 min
344: Trump's FDA commissioner nominee takes the hot seat
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.
Feb 27, 2025 · 32 min
343: Turbulence at the FDA, Bluebird Bio's sale and young biotech VCs
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.
Feb 20, 2025 · 41 min
342: FDA cuts, zombie biotechs, and too much weight loss?
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.
Feb 13, 2025 · 26 min
341: NIH funding cuts, a U.S. brain drain, and bold claims from AI drug developers
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 intelligence technologies, and why some experts are skeptical.
Feb 6, 2025 · 34 min
340: Crisis in CRISPR world, RFK Jr.'s promises, and a novel non-opioid pain drug
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.
Jan 30, 2025 · 34 min
339: RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearings, MASH drugs, and a controversial obesity ad
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 severe MASH. We critique that Hims & Hers commercial. And lastly, we talk about a new fund from biotech VC Curie.Bio and the money it’s invested in a still-stealthy gene therapy company trying to tackle ALS.
Jan 23, 2025 · 33 min
338: Chinese biotechs, a WHO departure, and post-JPM thoughts
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.
Jan 15, 2025 · 58 min
337: Eli Lilly CEO on Trump, obesity drugs, and a guidance miss
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 conference, including M&A deals, licensing of drugs from China, and the broader sentiment in the industry.
Jan 9, 2025 · 33 min
336: Pharma's big patent cliff, more obesity fundraising, and a failed ALS study
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.
Dec 19, 2024 · 33 min
335: A deep dive on Makary, Vertex's pain data, & 2025 predictions
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.
Dec 12, 2024 · 34 min
334: Pharma silence on RFK Jr. & parents trying to develop gene therapies for their children
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.
Dec 5, 2024 · 27 min
333: An H5N1 bird flu update and talent scarcity in the radiopharma field
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 compared Eli Lilly’s Zepbound to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Allison shares her recent reporting on a talent shortage that is posing new challenges to the fast-growing radiopharmaceutical industry.