23 May, 2026
Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, “The Readout Loud.” You can reach Allison on…
WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats is proposing that Medicare cover in-home care, which would create the first new benefit in the program since the Part D retail drug…
The Trump administration has made sweeping changes to vaccine policy over the past year justified by invocations of patients’ “personal autonomy.” In January, Department of Health and Human Services head…
Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with Shelley Wood and Eric Topol. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast”…
Allison covers what hot startups are getting up to, and who’s financing them. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, “The Readout Loud.” You can reach Allison on…

A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump and Operation Warp Speed?

First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and provocative articles about the life sciences writ large, written by biotech insiders, health care workers, researchers, and others. To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected letters to the editor in response to them. You can submit a letter […]

12 mins read

LSD treatment by drugmaker Mindmed found to reduce anxiety

LSD reduced symptoms of anxiety in a midstage study published Thursday, paving the way for additional testing and possible medical approval of a psychedelic drug that has been banned in the U.S. for more than a half century. The results from drugmaker Mindmed tested several doses of LSD in patients with moderate-to-severe generalized anxiety disorder, with the benefits […]

6 mins read

Florida set to scrap all childhood vaccine mandates in the state

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida will work to phase out all childhood vaccine mandates in the state, building on the effort by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to curb vaccine requirements and other health mandates during the Covid-19 pandemic. DeSantis also announced on Wednesday the creation of a state-level “Make America Healthy Again” commission modeled after similar initiatives pushed at […]

4 mins read

Gilead wants state AIDS drug programs to pay big price hikes for HIV meds

Gilead Sciences, the largest maker of HIV medicines, is seeking to boost prices significantly for several treatments that are widely distributed by state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. And the move is adding to financial uncertainty for the programs on top of concerns prompted by Trump administration funding cuts. The company recently told the state programs […]

1 min read

Trump administration restored funding for major diabetes study. The halt still stung

The Trump administration’s restoration of federal research funding to Columbia University has revived a landmark diabetes study that has tracked patients for nearly 30 years and vastly expanded understanding of the disease, its treatment, and its prevention. The study, which has been led by a Harvard Medical School professor since it began in 1996, was forced to shut down […]

1 min read

Alnylam’s treatment did not significantly lower blood pressure in mid-stage study

An investigational therapy from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals did not significantly lower blood pressure in a key Phase 2 trial, raising questions about the benefit of the twice-a-year treatment as it enters late-stage testing. Among high-risk patients already taking at least two common hypertension treatments, a 300-mg dose of Alnylam’s zilebesiran led to a reduction in blood […]

1 min read