Sarah Karlin-Smith
Senior Writer
Sarah is a senior writer at the Pink Sheet, specializing 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 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
OIG Accelerated Approval Report Spotlights Financial Costs Ahead Of Congressional Debate
First OIG report on FDA’s accelerated approval program as part of Aduhelm-spurred review doesn’t break new ground but will likely bring new wave of focus on the costs incurred to the government when drug companies fail to complete confirmatory trials in a timely manner just as reform advocates are hoping to muster enough attention on the topic to get legislative change this year.
Pink Sheet Podcast: Finally, A US FDA User Fee Deal, ‘Pandemic Is Over’ Take-Aways, Tpoxx Development Issues
Pink Sheet reporters and editor discuss the impact of the long wait for a user fee deal to be negotiated, how the FDA will interpret President Biden’s statement that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and concerns with the clinical development of the monkeypox treatment Tpoxx.
Ferring’s Fecal Transplant Gets Through AdComm, Aided By Preference For Standardized Product
US FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee endorses Rebyota for recurrent C. difficile infection; most panelists prefer a product whose manufacturing will be regulated, even one with lingering concerns about efficacy or safety, over the current landscape.
FDA’s Fecal Transplant Enforcement Discretion May Jeopardize Rebiotix’s Approval Prospects
A 2013 FDA decision to allow certain fecal microbiota transplants for C. difficile infection without an investigational new drug application hurt Rebiotix’s Phase III trial enrollment and may ultimately leave it without strong enough data for advisory committee endorsement or FDA approval.
A Backwards Approach: Expanded Access Drives Tpoxx Trial Design That Limits Placebo Control
US may be making common crisis-era mistake with Tpoxx trial design that prioritizes access over knowledge, ultimately restraining development of data needed to make the best treatment decisions with the potential Monkeypox treatment, particularly for the most vulnerable patients.
FDA Staffing, Resource Gaps Makes Applying COVID Learnings To Other Disease Areas Challenging
CBER Director Peter Marks hopes to run pilot programs that could convince Congress or industry to provide more funding that would enable FDA to offer pandemic-level communication with sponsors in 'normal' times.