The Readout Loud

We’re devoting our entire episode this week to one controversial and impactful topic: the FDA’s decision to block the review of Moderna’s mRNA flu shot. STAT was the first to report that Vinay Prasad, the agency’s top regulator of vaccines, overruled the head of the FDA’s vaccine office and other staffers in making that decision. Prasad’s unilateral action has renewed concerns about the FDA’s regulatory posture under the Trump administration. To help us dig deeply into this important story and its ramifications, we bring on STAT reporters Lizzy Lawrence and Matthew Herper. We also chat with Moderna President Stephen Hoge and former FDA official Jesse Goodman.

This is an episode of Drug Story, a podcast by Thomas Goetz. You can find the rest of the series at https://www.drugstory.co/podcast Once you turn 40, it seems like half the people you know are taking a statin drug. You know, because their cholesterol is high, and to prevent heart disease down the line. It makes sense: better safe than sorry. This is a huge triumph for preventive medicine. Statin drugs have saved (or improved) the lives of millions of people because they acted early. This is how medicine (and public health) is supposed to work. But the devil is in the details. Like all drugs, statins have side effects. And when they are prescribed for many millions of people, the math means that millions of people will not, in fact, get any benefit from the drug. It turns out that atorvastatin (and other statin drugs) may be the most over-prescribed drugs in the history of medicine. And therein lies a Drug Story. This episode includes perspective from Rita Redberg, MD, cardiologist and former editor in chief at JAMA Internal Medicine.

Why is the U.S. at risk of losing its measles elimination status? How are health officials reacting to the measles outbreak? And what did top Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official Mehmet Oz tell hospital executives at a fancy yacht party in San Francisco? We discuss all that and more on this week's episode of "The Readout LOUD," STAT's weekly biotech podcast. We bring on our infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell to talk about the ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina and what it means for the U.S. more broadly. We also chat with our hospitals and insurance reporter Tara Bannow about the financial troubles afflicting nonprofit hospitals and how they spent their time at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

What news happened over the holidays? Why will pharma CEOs be greeted warmly in San Francisco next week? And who will buy Revolution Medicines? We discuss all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s weekly biotech podcast. We bring on former co-host Damian Garde, who’s now a reporter at large at STAT, to preview the upcoming J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. We also discuss the approval of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, the federal government’s move to slash the number of recommended pediatric immunizations, and the resurgence of M&A deals.

How did Terns Pharmaceuticals and its “hodgepodge” pipeline grab attention at the American Society of Hematology conference? Is Eli Lilly’s new drug making people lose too much weight? And what, exactly, is the Trump administration’s plan for reforming the National Institutes of Health? First, we discuss all things ASH, particularly Tern’s chronic myeloid leukemia data, Johnson & Johnson’s multiple myeloma data, and Fulcrum Therapeutics’ pill for sickle cell disease. We also get into the latest news in — what else? — obesity drugs. Then, STAT reporters Megan Molteni and Anil Oza join for a conversation on the new series “American Science, Shattered,” which details this fissure and what it means for the future of the country’s scientific institutions.

How much time does Mark Cuban spend thinking about health care? Why does he think TrumpRx, a direct drug purchasing platform that the Trump administration aims to launch, is “the most incredible program ever”? And what are his thoughts on sports betting? We discuss all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s weekly biotech podcast. Cuban comes on for an extensive chat about the latest biosimilar launch by his company, Cost Plus Drugs, as well his broader thoughts on the drug industry and how the direct-to-consumer field is changing.We also chat about the news this week, including more M&A deals and an upcoming Alzheimer’s readout from Novo Nordisk.

On a jam-packed show, your co-hosts, minus the vacationing Allison DeAngelis, chat with STAT’s D.C. correspondent Lizzy Lawrence about a slow-boiling feud between Vinay Prasad, the head of the FDA’s biologics and vaccine branch, and his staff that has triggered even more exits and plunging morale. On the drug side of the agency, we dish on the shocking exit of director George Tidmarsh after he was accused of using his regulatory position to exact personal revenge against a former business partner. Bonus: Prasad and Tidmarsh hate each other.