Sydney Lupkin
Sydney Lupkin is the pharmaceuticals correspondent for NPR.
She was most recently a correspondent at Kaiser Health News, where she covered drug prices and specialized in data reporting for its enterprise team. She's reported on how tainted drugs can reach consumers, how companies take advantage of rare disease drug rules and how FDA-approved generics often don't make it to market. She's also tracked pharmaceutical dollars to patient advocacy groups and members of Congress. Her work has won the National Press Club's Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award, the National Institute for Health Care Management's Digital Media Award and a health reporting award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.
Lupkin graduated from Boston University. She's also worked for ABC News, VICE News, MedPage Today and The Bay Citizen. Her internship and part-time work includes stints at ProPublica, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The New England Center for Investigative Reporting and WCVB.
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While Food and Drug Administration inspectors who make sure food and drugs meet quality standards were spared in recent cuts, key support staffers were dismissed. -
The action is intended to build upon the existing program for Medicare drug price negotiations, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act that passed during the Biden administration. -
It was a chaotic week for the nation's health agencies, as layoff notices rolled in along with an order for deep cuts to contract spending. NPR's health reporters tell us what they've learned.
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Staffers began receiving termination notices this morning as part of a major restructuring at HHS. Some senior leadership are on their way out too. -
With no help from the federal government, states are trying to regulate recreational marijuana. California's Department of Cannabis Control works to keep contaminants out of joints, vapes and edibles. -
Large-scale compounding facilities have to stop making tirzepatide, the main ingredient in blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound, Wednesday.
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Eli Lilly is offering vials of its weight-loss drug Zepbound to patients at a discount — but only if they skip their insurance. Novo Nordisk is now discounting Wegovy for cash customers too. -
On its last weekday in power, the Biden Administration has chosen the next batch of drugs up for price negotiation in Medicare. -
January is a big time for drugmakers to hike prices. This year saw higher prices for 575 medications so far, including Ozempic, drugs for HIV, cancer and many others. -
Appointments with health professionals for obesity drug consultations are way up, according to data from Zocdoc, a provider of scheduling services.
