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
New COVID Treatments Face FDA, Commercial Barriers Despite Ongoing Need
Sponsors want more endpoint clarity as current state of government pandemic response, along with scientific and regulatory hurdles, is constraining efforts to refill a shrinking COVID medicine cabinet and could create vulnerabilities for future pandemics.
Pink Sheet Podcast: US FDA Loses Gene Therapy Expert, Humira Biosimilars Launch, FDA Allows In-Person Meetings
Pink Sheet reporters and editors consider the impact of FDA Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies Director Wilson Bryan’s retirement, the launch of Humira biosimilars and its effect on the biologic market, as well as the FDA moving to hybrid meetings with sponsors.
The Immortal Humira? In Huge Test For US Biosimilar Policy, Brand May Still Have Edge
First Humira biosimilar launches raise worries about holes in US health system that may let the brand product continue to dominate. If Humira biosimilars can’t get a strong foothold, reform to biosimilar policy for medicines reimbursed through the pharmacy benefit may be necessary if the US wants to rely on these products to bring down the cost of brand biologics.
Sliding Scale: Bar For COVID Therapeutics EUAs ‘Can Be Somewhat Variable’ – FDA’s Peter Marks
Marks appeared to use the variable EUA bar to justify what many viewed as early mistakes by FDA during COVID-19, and to emphasize the importance of physician awareness of the strength of evidence used to authorize a drug.
COVID Vaccines: What FDA Isn’t Talking About Ahead Of Upcoming Advisory Panel
From next-generation vaccine technology to safety data and global harmonization, what isn’t in the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee preview documents and on the 26 January meeting agenda may be just as important as what is.
FDA One Step Closer To Makena Withdrawal After Hearing Officer Echoes Advisory Panel’s Advice
In a memo to Commissioner Califf and Chief Scientist Bumpus, Celia Witten focuses the final Makena decisionmakers on the key factors she believes should be used to determine the drug’s market status.