House bill seeks increase for FDA

The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday an omnibus spending bill that would increase FDA's discretionary budget by $135 million to $2.9 billion for FY18. The increase comprises $94 million for combating the opioid epidemic and a $41 million budget authority increase. In his FY19 budget released earlier this year, President Donald Trump proposed a $473 million increase for the agency (see BioCentury Extra, Feb. 12).

According to data from Alliance for a Stronger FDA, the $41 million budget authority increase includes a $4 million increase for the evaluation of human drugs but no change for biologics, devices or toxicology research. Steven Grossman, the alliance's deputy executive director, told BioCentury that nothing in the omnibus bill precludes a FY19 increase more in line with the Trump administration's proposal...