Sydney Lepkin

Novo Nordisk's pricing announcement follows disappointing study results for its experimental new obesity drug, which caused its shares to drop 16 percent on Monday.

Sydney Lepkin, NPR News.

The FDA rattled the biotech industry when it said it wouldn't even look at Moderna's application to market the first mRNA flu shot.

Moderna used its mRNA technology to swiftly create and manufacture its COVID-19 shot during the pandemic.

The company wants to use the same technology to make a flu vaccine.

Initially, the FDA said it wouldn't review the new shot because the company didn't compare it to a high-dose flu vaccine in older people.

Now, Moderna says it will take an aged-based approach and agree to add a confirmatory study after marketing begins that will focus on older adults.

The company says the new vaccine would be ready for the next flu season pending FDA approval.

Support for Today Explained comes from Pepsi.

Maybe you heard this one.

In 2025, Pepsi brought back the Pepsi Challenge, where in blind taste tests, participants were given two zero sugar colas and they had to choose which taste they preferred.

The data, no less, shows that 66% of participants chose Pepsi zero sugar over Coke zero sugar and Pepsi zero sugar won 100% of markets where Pepsi conducted the Pepsi Challenge, even in Coke's hometown of Atlanta.

This is known as the Pepsi paradox, meaning that once labels and bias disappear, you might be surprised what you actually like.

And in the case of the Pepsi paradox, cola drinkers, the data shows, prefer the taste of Pepsi Zero Sugar.

You can go out and try Pepsi Zero Sugar today.

You deserve taste.

You deserve Pepsi.

My name is Sydney Lepkin, and I am the pharmaceuticals correspondent at NPR.

Oh, I don't think that we've reached the peak of GLP-1s by a long shot.

And when you say, like, does the industry want us to be taking them?