Adam Feuerstein

1 week ago | statnews.com | Adam Feuerstein

This story is an excerpt from Adam’s Biotech Scorecard, a subscriber-only newsletter. STAT+ subscribers can sign up here to get it delivered to their inbox. The Duchenne muscular dystrophy community is reeling following the second death of a patient from liver failure caused by Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy Elevidys. On Monday, my colleague Jason Mast and I reported on the immediate consequences of this tragic event for Duchenne patients, their caregivers, and physicians.

1 week ago | statnews.com | Jason Mast |Adam Feuerstein

Nicole Verdun, director of the office that reviews cell and gene therapies at the Food and Drug Administration, and her deputy Rachael Anatol have been placed on administrative leave and escorted out of the agency, according to a recording of a meeting obtained by STAT. Verdun had worked closely with Peter Marks, the former head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, on establishing new paths for bringing gene therapies to market, particularly in rare diseases.

1 week ago | statnews.com | Adam Feuerstein |Jason Mast

The death of a second teenage boy from liver failure caused by a gene therapy from Sarepta Therapeutics has left the Duchenne muscular dystrophy community angry, fearful and divided over whether to maintain hope in the therapy. Kameron Lawson learned about the boy’s death from a phone call from his son’s neurologist on Sunday morning. His own 10-year-old son, Konner, received the treatment, called Elevidys, in early April and began experiencing signs of liver failure six weeks later.

2 weeks ago | statnews.com | Adam Feuerstein |Elaine Chen

It’s been another tumultuous week for vaccines and public health. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of an expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunizations. Kennedy, as everyone’s aware, is openly skeptical of vaccines. He said he took the extraordinary step to “restore public trust in vaccines.” He accused the advisory group of “malevolent malpractice” for acting as a “rubber stamp” for vaccine approvals without adequate safety data.

2 weeks ago | statnews.com | Elaine Chen |Adam Feuerstein

Why did Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fire all members of the expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines? Who are the new members that Kennedy named? And what does that all mean for the future of public health? We discuss all that and more on this on this week’s episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. We bring on Kathryn Edwards, a vaccine expert and a former member of the CDC advisory panel, to parse through the turmoil.