A dilemma in ALS, the first MASH drug, & why gene therapy is hard

What happens when an approved drug doesn’t work? Why don’t patients want gene therapy? And is MASH still a big deal?

We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. Bioethicist Holly Fernandez Lynch joins us to discuss the case of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for ALS and what its failure means for drug development. We also discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including a tepid reception for gene therapies, the future of CAR-T cancer treatment, and the first approved medicine for a prevalent liver disease.

For more on what we cover, here’s more on Amylyx; here’s the story on hemophilia gene therapy; here’s the news on Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ drug for MASH; here’s where you can find episodes of Color Code; here’s where you can subscribe to the First Opinion Podcast; and here’s where you can subscribe to our biotech newsletter, The Readout.

Be sure to sign up on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, 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].