Two STAT Investigations, biotech updates, Fauci on the podcast, Elmo and friends, and much more!

Happy Friday! If the summer heat is having you stay indoors to keep cool, you might as well catch up on the biggest STAT stories from the week - including two big investigations that we're leading this newsletter off with. So, let’s hop to it… 

Troubled for-profit health systems are going incognito to turn a profit

In the past year, two juries ordered Acadia Healthcare and Universal Health Services to pay more than $1 billion after minors were raped in their care. These investor-owned psychiatric hospital operators have developed quite a sketchy reputation. 

So, in a new attempt to make money, they're joining forces with nonprofit hospitals who have strong local reputations — it’s the “brand halo effect,” as an Acadia executive literally put it. 

The system works for nonprofit systems too because now they have a place to send patients in a mental health crisis, and, as part-owners of the new hospitals, they get a cut of the profit. But, as our colleague Tara Bannow explains in a new investigation, these joint ventures focus on profit over the safety of patients and staff. 

The untold story of the Human Genome Project

In 1997, the Human Genome Project was billed as “the world’s biggest science project.” It was an ambitious attempt to read and map a human genetic code in its entirety which required 20 anonymous volunteers to submit their DNA and have their genetic information published for the world to see.

The participants were told they would remain anonymous and that no more than 10% of the eventual DNA sequence would have been obtained from a single person's DNA. That wouldn't be the case. 

An investigation from Undark Magazine, co-published with STAT, reveals that the project derived more than 70% of its published sequence from a single anonymous male donor, known as RP11. Researchers never tried to tell him the truth.

There is a lot to unravel here so you can read this piece with quick takeaways if you’re strapped for time. 

What’s Roche’s next big bet? 

In a new edition of Adam's Biotech Scorecard — a look at what’s next for Roche and other drugmakers still trying to turn the TIGIT science into lifesaving, billion-dollar-generating cancer medicines. Read it here.

First Opinion Podcast special guest Anthony Fauci 

In a special edition of the “First Opinion Podcast,” STAT interviewed the country’s former top infectious disease expert about some of the insights and revelations from his new memoir, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.”

Conversation topics include when Fauci knew that Covid-19 was a real threat; when another AIDS activist, Larry Kramer, called him “the consummate manipulative bureaucrat” in an interview with STAT; how quickly national health risk can skyrocket when it comes to pathogenic viruses; and which former president Fauci has the most affection for.

Alcohol driving a half-dozen types of cancer

Alcohol has long been classified as a cancer-causing substance, but a new study gives a clearer sense of just how many cancer cases and deaths may be driven by drinking. 

In all, about 24,000 cancer deaths and 95,000 cases in a single year were attributable to alcohol consumption, according to the researchers’ calculations.

$3.6 billion for Flagship Pioneering

Flagship Pioneering, one of the largest firms investing in and creating new biotech companies, said that it raised $3.6 billion in new funding.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based organization raised $2.6 billion for Flagship Pioneering Fund VIII, as well as $1 billion for what it described as side funds and sector-specific strategic partnerships. Flagship did not immediately respond to questions about the side funds.

Elmo (and friends) a tackling mental health 

Elmo — and other Muppets, such as Cookie Monster and even Oscar the Grouch — have long been asking their young audiences about feelings, and sharing their own. It’s part of a yearslong effort by Sesame Street to foster conversations about mental well-being, and makes Sesame a logical partner for others with similar aims.

Sarah Owermohle has the full story. 

Medicaid pays millions for not-so-healthy foods

Medicaid is paying millions for “medically tailored” foods from meal delivery programs. The only problem is these cheeseburgers, sandwiches, and other foods are actually loaded with sodium and saturated fat. 

Homestyle Direct, an Idaho-based company, offers a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich as part of its diabetes menu that boasts 980 milligrams of sodium. There are plenty of other examples in a new story from our colleague Nicholas Florko, who has been following the food is medicine movement. 

Ultimately, the way companies like this can bill taxpayer-funded state Medicaid programs for these meals really raises questions about federal and state oversight of meal delivery.