Gairik Sachdeva
@gairik.bsky.social
A bioengineer who believes in an abundant future. Follow my writing on innovation at: https://gairiksachdeva.substack.com/
Biotech business development at Skyhook. Previously at Arbor Bio, Abata Tx, Silver Lab.
All views here and on Substack are my own.
Biotech business development at Skyhook. Previously at Arbor Bio, Abata Tx, Silver Lab.
All views here and on Substack are my own.
Pinned
Gairik Sachdeva
@gairik.bsky.social
· Mar 7
Volatile is the new normal for the biotech workforce
Biotech workers can build resilience into a career full of transitions by finding matching niches and evolving skills through diverse experiences.
www.statnews.com
Check out an opinion essay I wrote for STAT on how to thrive in the perpetually volatile biotech industry
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
How good is A.I. at making medical diagnoses? Good enough to help—and to hurt.
For @newyorker.com, I spent months talking to patients, doctors, and researchers about how we can make the most of a powerful new technology and how we can minimize the side effects.
For @newyorker.com, I spent months talking to patients, doctors, and researchers about how we can make the most of a powerful new technology and how we can minimize the side effects.
If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For?
Large language models are transforming medicine—but the technology comes with side effects.
www.newyorker.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:38 PM
How good is A.I. at making medical diagnoses? Good enough to help—and to hurt.
For @newyorker.com, I spent months talking to patients, doctors, and researchers about how we can make the most of a powerful new technology and how we can minimize the side effects.
For @newyorker.com, I spent months talking to patients, doctors, and researchers about how we can make the most of a powerful new technology and how we can minimize the side effects.
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
June 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
June 6, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
"For a few months now, I have been on a mission to find the source of this seemingly divine creative power. I’d imagined it to be a portal through which brilliant ideas, insights, and essays might spontaneously flow... Unexpectedly, everything I read and experienced pointed elsewhere"
Harnessing Noise Like a Diligent, Discerning Demon
Lessons in the creative process from a 150-year old thought experiment in physics
gairiksachdeva.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
"For a few months now, I have been on a mission to find the source of this seemingly divine creative power. I’d imagined it to be a portal through which brilliant ideas, insights, and essays might spontaneously flow... Unexpectedly, everything I read and experienced pointed elsewhere"
"For a few months now, I have been on a mission to find the source of this seemingly divine creative power. I’d imagined it to be a portal through which brilliant ideas, insights, and essays might spontaneously flow... Unexpectedly, everything I read and experienced pointed elsewhere"
Harnessing Noise Like a Diligent, Discerning Demon
Lessons in the creative process from a 150-year old thought experiment in physics
gairiksachdeva.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
"For a few months now, I have been on a mission to find the source of this seemingly divine creative power. I’d imagined it to be a portal through which brilliant ideas, insights, and essays might spontaneously flow... Unexpectedly, everything I read and experienced pointed elsewhere"
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Here's an idea: Trump's fight with Harvard is a proxy for his fight with elite universities everywhere. He thinks (probably correctly) that if he can beat Harvard into submission then all the rest will fall into line. So Harvard's victory is essential, not just for Harvard but also for /1
May 27, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Here's an idea: Trump's fight with Harvard is a proxy for his fight with elite universities everywhere. He thinks (probably correctly) that if he can beat Harvard into submission then all the rest will fall into line. So Harvard's victory is essential, not just for Harvard but also for /1
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
This is the best graph I've seen in a while 📊
May 17, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This is the best graph I've seen in a while 📊
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Back in April, Darius Lakdawalla and Dana P. Goldman of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics wrote that "most-favored nation" drug pricing "can’t undo the basic economics of the global drug marketplace" www.statnews.com/2025/04/14/m...
‘Most-favored nation’ drug pricing has three significant problems
There are many good reasons why the U.S. should pay more for earlier access to new medications than its trading partners.
www.statnews.com
May 12, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Back in April, Darius Lakdawalla and Dana P. Goldman of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics wrote that "most-favored nation" drug pricing "can’t undo the basic economics of the global drug marketplace" www.statnews.com/2025/04/14/m...
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Projected deaths from cessation of USAID PEPFAR funding
www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl...
a 90-day freeze is expected to result in ~60,000 excess deaths
www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl...
a 90-day freeze is expected to result in ~60,000 excess deaths
The impact of the PEPFAR funding freeze on HIV deaths and infections: a mathematical modelling study of seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa
The sudden cessation of PEPFAR funding likely results in tens of thousands of HIV
deaths and new infections. These losses of life and health should compel the United
States government to rapidly and f...
www.thelancet.com
April 25, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Projected deaths from cessation of USAID PEPFAR funding
www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl...
a 90-day freeze is expected to result in ~60,000 excess deaths
www.thelancet.com/journals/ecl...
a 90-day freeze is expected to result in ~60,000 excess deaths
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
BREAKING: Harvard "will not negotiate" with Trump, rejects deal to avoid funding cuts www.axios.com/2025/04/14/h...
Harvard "will not negotiate" with Trump, rejects deal to avoid funding cuts
"Harvard will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights," university president Alan Garber wrote Monday.
www.axios.com
April 14, 2025 at 6:26 PM
BREAKING: Harvard "will not negotiate" with Trump, rejects deal to avoid funding cuts www.axios.com/2025/04/14/h...
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
Drugs in the Balance: FDA's Complex Job Safeguarding Health
RFK Jr. Misunderstands the agency — Drug regulation is critical and complex (not corrupt)
open.substack.com
March 6, 2025 at 12:29 PM
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Trump has rescinded the Bioeconomy EO, calling it "radical biotech and biomanufacturing initiatives." www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Rescinds Additional Harmful Biden Executive Actions
RESTORING COMMON SENSE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order rescinding a second round of harmful executive
www.whitehouse.gov
March 16, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Trump has rescinded the Bioeconomy EO, calling it "radical biotech and biomanufacturing initiatives." www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Volatile is the new normal for the biotech workforce
www.statnews.com/2025/03/07/b...
www.statnews.com/2025/03/07/b...
Volatile is the new normal for the biotech workforce
Biotech workers can build resilience into a career full of transitions by finding matching niches and evolving skills through diverse experiences.
www.statnews.com
March 9, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Volatile is the new normal for the biotech workforce
www.statnews.com/2025/03/07/b...
www.statnews.com/2025/03/07/b...
Check out an opinion essay I wrote for STAT on how to thrive in the perpetually volatile biotech industry
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Volatile is the new normal for the biotech workforce
Biotech workers can build resilience into a career full of transitions by finding matching niches and evolving skills through diverse experiences.
www.statnews.com
March 7, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Check out an opinion essay I wrote for STAT on how to thrive in the perpetually volatile biotech industry
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
This article is paywalled, though you can also find my writing at gairiksachdeva.substack.com
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
Drugs in the Balance: FDA's Complex Job Safeguarding Health
RFK Jr. Misunderstands the agency — Drug regulation is critical and complex (not corrupt)
open.substack.com
March 6, 2025 at 12:29 PM
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
open.substack.com/pub/gairiksa...
What side effects should we accept from a drug that fights a deadly cancer? Should the threshold be different for a psychoactive medicine meant to relax an anxious mind? Finding the balance between the risks and benefits of drugs — conventional or alternative — is tricky but essential.
What RFK Jr. Misunderstands About the FDA
Drug Regulation is Critical and Complex (not Corrupt)
open.substack.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:54 PM
What side effects should we accept from a drug that fights a deadly cancer? Should the threshold be different for a psychoactive medicine meant to relax an anxious mind? Finding the balance between the risks and benefits of drugs — conventional or alternative — is tricky but essential.
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/what-rfk-j...
gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/what-rfk-j...
March 5, 2025 at 6:09 AM
"When RFK Jr. looks at the FDA’s recommendations and alleges corruption, he is making the very mistake the agency aims to avoid: selectively cherry-picking outliers and anecdotes, without weighing the entirety of evidence in the balance."
gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/what-rfk-j...
gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/what-rfk-j...
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
"Everything that one might consider intelligent design is, in fact, mostly shaped by evolution. And I don’t just mean soaring giraffe necks, springy frog legs, and scented cherry blossoms ... Sedans, songs, and systems of government are all subject to similar winnowing from selection."
What Baby Shark and the Supreme Court Have in Common
The universal power of experimentation, selection, and persistence to shape our world
gairiksachdeva.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 10:06 PM
"Everything that one might consider intelligent design is, in fact, mostly shaped by evolution. And I don’t just mean soaring giraffe necks, springy frog legs, and scented cherry blossoms ... Sedans, songs, and systems of government are all subject to similar winnowing from selection."
"Everything that one might consider intelligent design is, in fact, mostly shaped by evolution. And I don’t just mean soaring giraffe necks, springy frog legs, and scented cherry blossoms ... Sedans, songs, and systems of government are all subject to similar winnowing from selection."
What Baby Shark and the Supreme Court Have in Common
The universal power of experimentation, selection, and persistence to shape our world
gairiksachdeva.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 10:06 PM
"Everything that one might consider intelligent design is, in fact, mostly shaped by evolution. And I don’t just mean soaring giraffe necks, springy frog legs, and scented cherry blossoms ... Sedans, songs, and systems of government are all subject to similar winnowing from selection."
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
A terrifying new report by John Carreyrou illustrates why we have those pesky regulations and those irritating clinical trials:
Killing Cancer Patients (Once the Payments Clear)
www.science.org
January 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
A terrifying new report by John Carreyrou illustrates why we have those pesky regulations and those irritating clinical trials:
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
The Glass Flowers, embodying a unique coincidence of progeniture, period, purpose, and performance, are a celebration of a historic flash of human creativity.
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
Timeless Beauty Lost to Time: Art of the Glass Flowers
Solemn reminder of the fleeting fragility of human creativity.
open.substack.com
December 30, 2024 at 7:32 AM
The Glass Flowers, embodying a unique coincidence of progeniture, period, purpose, and performance, are a celebration of a historic flash of human creativity.
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
The Glass Flowers, embodying a unique coincidence of progeniture, period, purpose, and performance, are a celebration of a historic flash of human creativity.
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
Timeless Beauty Lost to Time: Art of the Glass Flowers
Solemn reminder of the fleeting fragility of human creativity.
open.substack.com
December 30, 2024 at 7:32 AM
The Glass Flowers, embodying a unique coincidence of progeniture, period, purpose, and performance, are a celebration of a historic flash of human creativity.
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
But how did such a breathtaking assortment come into being during only one sliver of human history?
“As the era of vertically integrated biotech companies sunsets, drug development in the future will likely be distributed across specialized platform companies, transient early-stage biotech companies, and a smaller number of big pharmas with the marketing muscle.”
Modernas No More: A Rare Success from the End of an Era for Biotech
Complexity is making it unlikely for new Moderna-like biotech companies to emerge; instead, partnerships between specialists are fueling drug development.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2024 at 12:31 AM
“As the era of vertically integrated biotech companies sunsets, drug development in the future will likely be distributed across specialized platform companies, transient early-stage biotech companies, and a smaller number of big pharmas with the marketing muscle.”
Reposted by Gairik Sachdeva
Perhaps a biotech hot take: "A vanishingly small number of companies founded in the last 20 years have access to the path that led Genentech and Moderna to the growth they achieved."
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
December 17, 2024 at 11:57 AM
Perhaps a biotech hot take: "A vanishingly small number of companies founded in the last 20 years have access to the path that led Genentech and Moderna to the growth they achieved."
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
Perhaps a biotech hot take: "A vanishingly small number of companies founded in the last 20 years have access to the path that led Genentech and Moderna to the growth they achieved."
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
December 17, 2024 at 11:57 AM
Perhaps a biotech hot take: "A vanishingly small number of companies founded in the last 20 years have access to the path that led Genentech and Moderna to the growth they achieved."
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?
Full piece here: gairiksachdeva.substack.com/p/modernas-n...
Do you agree? What else may be going on?