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FDA Advisory Committee (AdCom) meetings
An FDA Advisory Committee (AdCom) is a panel of independent outside experts the FDA convenes to review a drug and vote on questions like whether the benefits outweigh the risks. The vote is non-binding — but the FDA usually follows it, so AdComs are major catalysts in their own right, typically held weeks before the PDUFA date.
Why AdComs matter to traders
An AdCom can move a stock as much as the decision itself. The FDA often posts its own briefing documents a couple of days before — another scheduled, market-moving sub-catalyst.
Not every drug gets one
The FDA reserves AdComs for novel, controversial, or first-in-class questions. No AdCom can itself be read as routine — or as the FDA being confident. See upcoming dates on the calendar.