FDA call for new adcomm members signals renewed interest in outside advisors
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued notices inviting subject-matter experts and consumer representatives to volunteer for its advisory committees. The move comes after the role of FDA's advisory committees was diminished under former FDA leadership.
One expert who spoke to Focus said the announcement signals renewed interest in the committee system by the agency.
On 30 September, FDA said it is initiating a broad, nationwide effort to recruit and expand the range of qualified experts on its independent advisory committees. The agency published two notices: one calling for subject matter experts with qualified scientific, technical, and professional backgrounds to volunteer, and another seeking consumer representatives to participate on the committees. FDA said it is accepting self-nominations, and those selected will serve up to four years on a committee.
“We are actively inviting people from across the country who are on the forefront of their fields — clinicians, researchers, and community voices who can bring the latest science, real-world experience, and fresh perspectives to the FDA’s deliberations,” said acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas in a press release. “These panels provide independent expertise and rigorous scrutiny as the FDA navigates complex and rapidly evolving areas of science.
“The Trump Administration is deeply committed to strengthening the partnership between the FDA and the nation’s brightest minds," he added.
The move marks a reversal from the agency’s stance under former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who resigned in May. Both he and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. have been critical of advisory committees and under their leadership the agency significantly cut back the number of committee meetings held in 2025 and has held just nine advisory committee meetings in 2026.
Kennedy also make the controversial move of replacing all members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) with new members more aligned with his views on vaccines. The agency has also held five expert panels—convened on topics including testosterone therapy for men, hormone therapy in menopausal women, and antidepressant use during pregnancy—outside the advisory committee system.
In an opinion article published in JAMA Health Forum earlier this year, Joseph Daval and Aaron Kesselheim, of the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law (PORTAL), raised concerns with the use of expert panels. They argued that panelists were seemingly handpicked to share views already known to align with the positions of advocates of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
“The use of expert panels to deliver predetermined recommendations, or to send a message to a political constituency, undermines the trustworthiness of the FDA,” said the authors. “Most troubling, of course, is what this shift in the FDA’s use of experts says about the agency’s relationship to politics.
“The emergence of expert panels, with the decline of advisory committees, reflects a problematic reordering of FDA priorities: courting political constituencies over relying on the tools best suited to its day-to-day work of reviewing medical products,” they added.
It is not unusual for the FDA to publish notices inviting experts to volunteer for its advisory committees, but the latest step of issuing a press release with the announcements is significant, according to Steven Grossman, president of HPS Group and a regulatory consultant. While there has been less interest from experts in joining the committees since the advisory committee system has been diminished and unresponsive, Grossman said he is hopeful that renewed interest in strengthening the advisory committee system will attract more expertise.
“Both Diamantis and [FDA Commissioner nominee Heidi Overton] have expressed support for reviving a more robust advisory committee system,” Grossman told Focus. “The press release is a way to signal to the world that FDA is taking this seriously again.
“I hope hundreds of SME’s and potential consumer/patient representatives will respond, giving FDA the largest pool possible to form unbiased panels,” he added.
During last week’s Senate confirmation hearing Overton stated that “if I’m confirmed as FDA commissioner, advisory committees will be a critical part.”
She added that her “goal would not be to shut down any advisory committees but to look at all of them to make sure they are fulfilling their highest purpose, getting the best experts on, providing recommendations—they are a key part of the administrative record of the FDA and the FDA does rely on that.” (RELATED: FDA nominee Overton faces grilling in Senate confirmation hearing, Regulatory Focus 24 September 2026)
Grossman noted that at the end of former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf's tenure and during Makary's time at the agency, there was significant interest in addressing the cost and efficiency of advisory committee meetings. He said that while it was a legitimate concern to ask how many advisory committees are needed, the system was substantially dismantled rather than refined.
“Advisory committees remind me of the Oscar Wilde quote that ‘cynics know the cost of everything and the value of nothing,’” said Grossman. “Advisory committees are expensive, both in staff time and logistical costs.
“However, they are also of inestimable value in establishing and reinforcing FDA’s positioning as the top drug regulatory agency in the world,” he added.
Grossman noted that independent advisory committees are critical to instill public confidence in the products that FDA regulators authorize for market.
“If there are concerns about your drug, everyone knows: you cannot talk your way or buy your way into an FDA approval, you have to publicly convince a top-scientific panel that advises the agency,” said Grossman. “That’s priceless.”
FDA said it will consider nominations for current and anticipated near-term vacancies on its advisory committees and will accept nominations on a continuing basis. However, for consumer representative experts to be considered as soon as possible for a vacancy, they should apply by 15 November. Similarly, the agency said subject matter experts with scientific, technical, and professional expertise should apply by 30 November. All subsequent applications will be considered by FDA as vacancies come open.
