Listen: Robert Califf’s FDA return, the future of CRISPR, & another vaccine delay

Will there be a new ALS drug this year? What business does Wall Street have with CRISPR? And when can kids get Covid-19 vaccines?

We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, STAT’s Nicholas Florko joins us to preview the trials ahead for Robert Califf as he retakes the reins at the FDA — including a high-profile decision on a new treatment for ALS. Then, CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna and financier Marty Chavez join us to talk about the future of genome editing and the investments they plan to make in it. We also discuss the latest on Eric Lander, the Covid-19 vaccine meeting that wasn’t, and the future of Chinese-developed cancer drugs.

For more on what we cover, here’s the news on Califf; here’s more on Lander; here’s where things stand on Covid-19 vaccines for children; here’s the latest on Chinese cancer drugs; here’s where you can subscribe to the First Opinion Podcast; and here’s our complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Be sure to sign up on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Interested in sponsoring a future episode of “The Readout LOUD”? Email us at [email protected].