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.
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31:40
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.
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40:55
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.
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31:10
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.
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31:25
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.
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