Listen: Drug industry infighting, the human side of genetic medicine, and a big year for the microbiome
Can biopharma police itself? Who decides whether something’s a disease or a difference? And will fecal matter ever become a drug?
We discuss all that and more on the latest episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, our colleague Ed Silverman joins us to explain the story of Belcher Pharmaceuticals, a company that raised the price on a decades-old medicine and irked its peers in the process. Then, cardiologist Ethan Weiss calls in to share a personal story about his daughter with albinism and how raising her has shaped his views on advances in genome editing and gene therapy. Later, STAT’s Kate Sheridan stops by to explain why the microbiome field is in for a make-or-break year. Finally, we embark on a lightning round, featuring Warren Buffett’s investments in biotech, Wall Street’s views on fish oil, and the latest prison sentence for a biopharma executive.
