The upheaval of CDC’s vaccine panel and drug pricing confusion

June 13, 2025

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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. If you'd rather read than listen to that conversation, it's also been transcribed as a Q&A.

We also chat about how pharma companies still don't have much clarity on Trump's most-favored nation drug pricing policy, biotech's next big takeout target, and more.

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For more on the abrupt firing of the CDC advisory members, go here; to learn more about the new members of the advisory panel, go here; to read more on the lack of clarity around the most-favored nation policy, go here; for more on why Insmed could be a takeout target, go here; and to read more on contract manufacturer National Resilience winding down its facilities, go here.