A new threat to merck's blockbuster cancer treatment, moderna's cutbacks, and obesity drugs for kids

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly

biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54. Allison DeAngelis is the East Coast biotech and venture

capital reporter at STAT, reporting where scientific ideas and money meet. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Allison on Signal at

AllisonDeAngelis.01. What’s next for Akeso and Summit Therapeutics after their cancer immunotherapy outperformed Merck’s Keytruda in a large Phase 3 clinical trial? Who’s the iconoclastic

outsider behind Summit’s success? Why can’t Moderna turn a profit? And should we be giving weight loss drugs to kids? We talk about all that and more on this week’s episode of “The Readout

LOUD.” STAT reporter Matt Herper joins us to break down all the angles of this week’s tumultuous week in cancer immunotherapy, including his up-close look at Summit co-CEO Bob Duggan. We

also discuss the latest news in the life sciences, including Moderna pruning its pipeline and its spending, plus results from a study that tested a GLP-1 drug in children. For more on the

Akeso-Summit study results, go here; the Duggan profile can be read here; a story looking at Moderna’s financial and R&D update can be found here; and here’s more on obesity drugs in

kids. Be sure to sign up for “The Readout LOUD” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you get your podcasts.