Listen: Breakthrough infections, the power of lobbying, & pharma’s cinematic villainy

Did we take off our masks too soon? Can Democrats pass a drug pricing bill? And do pharma CEOs get weapons training?

We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, Céline Gounder of NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine joins us to discuss the issue of breakthrough coronavirus infections and whether the U.S. was too quick to unmask. Then, STAT’s Rachel Cohrs calls in to share the curious case of the moderate Democrat who made thousands of dollars in pharma donations within two days of attacking a drug pricing bill. We also discuss Biogen’s latest defense of Aduhelm, the debate over Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine, and the latest movie casting Big Pharma as a villain.

For more on what we cover, here’s the latest from Biogen; here’s the news on pharma’s political donations; here’s more on the state of Covid-19 in the U.S.; here’s the trailer for “Sweet Girl”; here’s where you can subscribe to the First Opinion Podcast; and here’s our complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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And if you have any feedback for us — topics to cover, guests to invite, vocal tics to cease — you can email [email protected].

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