Modest increase in FDA budget

The Bush administration submitted a detailed budget request to Congress on Monday that includes modest increases for FDA's regulation of human drugs and biologics. The administration's budget request includes $318 million for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), up from the $309 million allocated this year and $140 million for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), an increase of $8 million. But much of the increased funding for drugs and biologics comes from anticipated increases in user fees paid by the pharmaceutical and biotech industry for product reviews. The White House is proposing only about $4 million in new federal funding for CBER and $22 million for CDER. Pay increases are the largest line items in the budget increases for the two centers, followed by increased funding for adverse event reporting, beefed-up human subject protections, and increasing inspections of imported drugs and biologics. ...