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Short, plain-language references for reading biotech catalysts and the signals we track.

Biotech catalysts: the full taxonomy
Every major event type that moves biotech stocks — regulatory, clinical, scientific and corporate.
What each catalyst does to the price
Typical direction and magnitude of the move per event — and what amplifies it.
PDUFA dates explained
The FDA's decision deadline — and the single biggest binary event for many biotechs.
Clinical trial phases & readouts
Phase 1 → 2 → 3, and what a 'readout' actually is.
"Sell the news"
Why a stock can fall on good news — buy the rumor, sell the news.
Common catalyst price patterns
The recurring run-up, fade, squeeze and dump patterns around biotech events.
Dilution & offerings
Shelf registrations, 424B5 takedowns, and ATMs — the biotech cash tax.
Cash runway
How long until a biotech must raise again — the metric that predicts dilution.
Short interest & days-to-cover
Crowded shorts, squeezes, and the metric that actually matters.
Insider buying (Form 4)
When officers and directors buy with their own money.
Analyst ratings & price targets
What buy/hold/sell, upgrades, and targets do (and don't) tell you.
Reading an 8-K
The filing where material news actually breaks.
How a drug gets approved
The journey from lab to market — IND, the three phases, NDA/BLA, and FDA review.
FDA designations & expedited pathways
Breakthrough, Fast Track, Orphan, Priority Review and Accelerated Approval explained.
Advisory Committee (AdComm) meetings
When outside experts publicly vote on a drug before the FDA decides.
The Complete Response Letter (CRL)
What it means when the FDA says 'not yet'.
Reading a trial result
Endpoints, statistical significance, and the traps in topline data.
Share structure: float, market cap & warrants
Why the same news moves a micro-float biotech far more.
Approaching catalyst events
Binary events are high-risk — a framework for thinking about them.

Educational only — not financial advice.