Sydney Lupkin Sydney Lupkin is the pharmaceuticals correspondent for NPR.
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Sydney Lupkin

Sydney Lupkin

Pharmaceuticals Correspondent

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.

Story Archive

Thursday

Ozempic, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Type 2 diabetes, is racking up blockbuster sales because many people are taking it to lose weight. As more people try it, reports to the FDA about possible side effects are rising. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

As Ozempic use grows, so do reports of possible mental health side effects

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Friday

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana

Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics

For this week's Indicators of the Week, Darian is joined by NPR colleagues Jeff Guo and Sydney Lupkin. We get into the latest numbers on child poverty in the U.S. and what it tells us about effective policy intervention. Sydney brings an update on the new covid booster and who's paying for it. And Jeff talks about Taylor Swift...again. He promises it has to do with economics.

Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics

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Leif Parsons for NPR

Baby babble isn't just goo goo! And hearing 2 languages is better than one

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Thursday

Fact check: Do lower drug prices make it harder for companies to find new treatments?

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Wednesday

Farxiga, Xarelto, and Eliquis are made available to customers at the New City Halsted Pharmacy on August 29, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

Tuesday

President Biden hugs Steven Hadfield, a Medicare recipient who takes expensive drugs, at an event on prescription drug costs at the White House on Aug. 29. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

Here are the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts

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Tuesday

Pfizer's RSV vaccine to protect newborns is approved by the FDA

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Monday

An electron micrograph of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, also known as RSV, which is the leading cause of hospitalizations among infants in the U.S. CDC via AP hide caption

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CDC via AP

Pfizer's RSV vaccine to protect babies gets greenlight from FDA

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Thursday

An aerial view shows damage to a Pfizer pharmaceutical factory in Rocky Mount, N.C., from a tornado that struck on July 19. The plant produces many drugs used in hospitals. Sean Rayford/Getty Images hide caption

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Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Tornado damage to Pfizer factory highlights vulnerabilities of drug supply

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Wednesday

Here are the drugs that could be in short supply after a tornado hit a Pfizer factory

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UCLA researcher Megha Sundara says that, even early on, babies are very good at imitating the rhythm and intonations — part of what makes up "prosody" — of the language they're hearing. Image Source/Getty Images hide caption

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Image Source/Getty Images

Why babies babble, and what it can teach adults about language

In which we metaphorically enter the UCLA Language Acquisistion Lab's recording castle, guided by linguistics researcher Dr. Megha Sundara. NPR science correspondent Sydney Lupkin temporarily takes over the host chair to talk to Sundara about all things baby babble. Along the way, we learn why babies babble, how that babbling can change with exposure to new languages — and if there are any lessons for adults.

Why babies babble, and what it can teach adults about language

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Thursday

AbbVie's Humira was the world's best-selling drug for many years. Now it faces competition for copycats that cost a fraction of its price. David J. Phillip/AP hide caption

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David J. Phillip/AP

Blockbuster drug Humira finally faces lower-cost rivals

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Wednesday

Copycat drugs could end Humira's reign as the prominent arthritis treatment

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Tuesday

Copycat drugs could end Humira's reign as the prominent arthritis treatment

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Thursday

FDA approves the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill

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Monday

Smoking has been used around the world as a method to preserve food for thousands of years. This episode, we explore why it's also the key to tender, juicy meat. MIGUEL MENDEZ/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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MIGUEL MENDEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Chemistry says tender meat is cooked low and slow

Chefs will tell you, cooking is not just an art — it's a science. And the spirit of summer barbecues, NPR science correspondent Sydney Lupkin brings us this piece about how understanding the chemistry of cooking meat can help you perfect your barbeque. It's all about low and slow cooking.

Chemistry says tender meat is cooked low and slow

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Monday

Norditropin, a growth hormone from Novo Nordisk, remains in short supply, frustrating parents. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Families scramble to find growth hormone drug as shortage drags on

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Friday

Packages of Mifepfex, the brand-name version of mifepristone, seen at a family planning clinic in Rockville, Md. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Here's what really happened during the abortion drug's approval 23 years ago

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Monday

Sunday

A drug shortage is making it harder for doctors to treat strep throat

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Saturday

Dueling rulings lead to confusion over abortion drug access

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Thursday

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has pulled its approval for an unproven drug intended to prevent premature births. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Wednesday

The opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan has been approved for sale over the counter

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The FDA has approved an over-the-counter spray to treat opioid overdose

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