# 396: A new trick for old science, and biotech VCs' scrambled playbook Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-readout-loud-1134305/396-a-new-trick-for-old-science-and-biotech-vcs-scrambled-playbook Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-readout-loud-1134305/396-a-new-trick-for-old-science-and-biotech-vcs-scrambled-playbook.md Podcast: [The Readout Loud](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-readout-loud-1134305) Published: 2026-04-09T18:41:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/TTSAA5523666345.mp3?updated=1775766569 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/TTSAA5523666345.mp3?updated=1775766569 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-readout-loud-1134305/episodes/396-a-new-trick-for-old-science-and-biotech-vcs-scrambled-playbook Duration seconds: 1932 ## Resource Why is old exon science getting new traction? What’s unsettling biotech VCs? And who will be the next CEO of PhRMA? Adam is out, so Elaine and Allison dive into the latest news, including how China and artificial intelligence are straining biotech VC firms, in addition to more M&A. They also discuss how a cancelled Food and Drug Administration meeting led to a biotech’s demise. Plus, there’s new hope for an old theory on treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. STAT reporter Jason Mast details the clinical testing underway. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-readout-loud-1134305/episodes/396-a-new-trick-for-old-science-and-biotech-vcs-scrambled-playbook/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-readout-loud-1134305/396-a-new-trick-for-old-science-and-biotech-vcs-scrambled-playbook.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.