Sarah Karlin-Smith
Senior Writer
Sarah specializes in the policy and politics that affect the pharmaceutical industry. She covers the US Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service and Congress and other parts of federal and state government. Her work explores how government policies influence how drugs are developed and approved, what diseases are prioritized by scientists, and who gets access to medicines and at what cost. Sarah has covered health care since 2011. Prior to returning to the Pink Sheet in March 2020, she covered health policy at Politico for five years. She is a regular panelist on the Kaiser Health News 'What the Health' podcast. Sarah was selected for and attended a 2018 International Women’s Media Foundation reporting fellowship in Rwanda. In 2016, she attended Harvard Medical School’s media fellowship on bioethics and, in 2014, was an Association of Health Care Journalists-National Library of Medicine Fellow.
Latest From Sarah Karlin-Smith
FDA’s Authority Looks Safe From Judicial Interference Following Supreme Court Abortion Pill Arguments
The agency's and the pharma industry’s worst fears – that a potential ruling in the mifepristone case might usurp the FDA’s scientific authority and throw the stability of the US drug approval process into question – seem unlikely to materialize as the majority of the Supreme Court justices signal the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine lacks standing to sue.
Bernie Gets Mostly Pharma-Friendly Drug Pricing Results
Changes to inhaler pricing may be more ‘business as usual’ for the drug industry than the Vermont senator wants to let on. FTC, meanwhile, is keeping the patent pressure on Teva, the only inhaler manufacturer to not act following Sanders’ investigation.
Pink Sheet Podcast: Mifepristone And Misinformation At SCOTUS, Understanding US FDA’s ODAC
Pink Sheet reporters and editor discuss the upcoming US Supreme Court arguments on mifepristone access, the SCOTUS reaction to the fight against misinformation, and the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee going against three negative product reviews.
Mifepristone Supporters Highlight Voter Trust In FDA Decisions Ahead Of Supreme Court Arguments
New poll from advocates pushing for courts and the states to stay out of FDA’s scientific decisions indicates majority of US voters support FDA drug safety determinations across party lines, though Republican support is more tentative.
US FDA’s Anti-Misinformation Campaigns Look Safer After Supreme Court Oral Arguments
FDA’s efforts to tackle misinformation may face fewer legal obstacles moving forward, following oral arguments at the Supreme Court on a case that could have broad ramifications for how the government communicates public health information.
‘The Run Is Worth The Slide:’ FDA Advisors Urge Expansion Of J&J’s CAR-T Carvykti Despite Initial Upfront Treatment Risks
Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee also favors earlier use of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Abecma in multiple myeloma, although some members raise concerns about lack of plateau in progression-free survival benefit and equivocable overall survival data.