This is the online version of Adam’s Biotech Scorecard, a subscriber-only newsletter. STAT+ subscribers can sign up here to get it delivered to their inbox.
I am entirely enthralled by the World Cup. I am watching a ton of soccer on TV. I love the Tartan Army that has invaded Boston for Scotland’s games at Gillette Stadium. Tiny Cape Verde drawing mighty Spain was incredible. Messi, 39, playing in his sixth (!) World Cup, is still the GOAT.
And England still hasn’t played but will in a couple of hours, as I get this newsletter finished on Wednesday afternoon. Olé!
Programming note: This newsletter is taking a holiday next week but will be back in your inboxes July 2.
What Soon-Shiong says vs. what he has delivered
I’ve taken a good bit of heat (and hate) from online fans of Patrick Soon-Shiong who view the billionaire physician as a selfless scientist/entrepreneur trying to rid the world of cancer. That’s a laudable goal, of course, except Soon-Shiong’s proclamations are mostly fluff, financially self-serving and have led to FDA wrist-slapping.
A wide gap exists between what Soon-Shiong says his cancer drugs can achieve and what they actually do, based on real clinical evidence.
Pancreatic cancer is an instructive and presently relevant example. Long before Soon-Shiong became rich and famous, he treated diabetic patients with pancreas transplants and performed surgery on patients with pancreatic cancer. A desire to transform the treatment of pancreatic cancer with novel immunotherapies inspired Soon-Shiong’s “Bioshield” mission, according to his own treatise.
