Episode 49: Painkiller racketeering, the limits of genetic tests, and pharma's day on the Hill

Is pharma about to have its Big Tobacco moment? Are we overestimating human genetics? And can sales reps rap? We discuss all that and more on the latest episode of “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. First, Boston Globe reporter Jonathan Saltzman joins us to discuss the case against Insys Therapeutics, the maker of a powerful painkiller now accused of running a nationwide racketeering scheme. Then Dr. Laura Esserman of the University of California, San Francisco, comes on to break down the debate over genetic testing for cancer risk. And then we give you the need-to-know on an upcoming Senate hearing that will see seven pharma executives get grilled on the rising cost of medicines in the U.S.