Listen: A whirlwind week in Washington, Sean Parker’s mansion, & remembering a resonant voice in biotech

Is drug pricing too complex for the Trump administration? Would you recognize Tom Hanks at a party? And what does it mean when famous executives quit?

We discuss all that and more on the latest episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, STAT Washington correspondent Lev Facher joins us to break down a baffling week for drug pricing in D.C., with a mysterious executive order, a pair of Trump administration setbacks, and a weighty closed-door meeting. Then, we discuss billionaire Sean Parker, his ever-growing work in immuno-oncology, and what it’s like on the business end of celebrity journalism. Later, STAT’s Matthew Herper joins us to remember Michael Becker, a biotech stalwart who became an arresting patient advocate after his cancer diagnosis. Finally, we embark on a lightning round, with quick takes on consumer genetics, fuzzy VC math, and the publishing industrial complex.

For more on what we cover, here’s the latest from D.C.; here’s the Parker profile; here’s a remembrance of Becker; and here’s the 23andMe news.

We’ll be back next Thursday evening — and every Thursday evening — so be sure to sign up on iTunes, 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].

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