FDA's use of adcomms prior to drug approval decreased over the last decade

Between 2011 and 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decreased the use of advisory committees before approving drugs from 59% to 6% per year, according to recent research published in Health Affairs.

“Advisory committees, if used consistently, can lend credibility to the FDA’s decision to allow a drug to market. But the decrease we found in advisory committee review of approved drugs since 2010 presents concerns about how FDA is choosing to use—or not use—independent expert advice,” C. Joseph Daval, first author with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University in Boston, stated in a press release.