The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting a budget of $4.7 billion for fiscal 2014. The proposed budget represents a 21 percent increase over fiscal 2012. The agency says almost all of the budget, 94 percent, will come from user fees including new fees stemming from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). About $15 million has been trimmed from human drug, biologics, and medical device programs.
“These are tight budget times, and the FDA budget request reflects this reality,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., in a statement. “Our budget increases are targeted to strategic areas that will benefit patients and consumers and overall strengthen our economy. Through the good work of the FDA, Americans will receive life-saving medicines approved as fast as or faster than anywhere in the world, confidence in the medical products they rely on daily, and a food supply that is among the safest in the world.”
Some key areas where funds will be directed are: food safety, biodefense, food safety inspections in China, and medical countermeasures. An additional $295.8 million budgeted over 2012 levels in food safety will go to implement the FSMA which requires the FDA to build a more modern, prevention-focused domestic and imported food safety system. A biodefense increase of $17.9 million will go to the outfitting, certification and operation of the Life Sciences-Biodefense Complex at the FDA’s White Oak headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. An additional $10 million will go to detect and address the risks of products made in China. And an additional $3.5 million will go to improve readiness of medical counter measures.
