FDA Requests Almost $5 Billion for 2014 Budget

FDA is requesting $4.7 billion as part of the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget. A portion of the budget increases would support programs to ensure the safety of medical products.

The budget also includes a $15-million decrease in budget authority for human drug, biologics, and medical device programs. “These are tight budget times, and the FDA budget request reflects this reality,” said Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, in a press release. “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.”

The FDA budget request includes more than $17.9 million more than FY 2012 for outfitting and required certification and operation of the Life Sciences-Biodefense Complex (the FDA’s White Oak headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.) to modernize regulatory science and promote medical product innovation. It also includes more than $10 million above the 2012 budget for food and drug safety inspections of products and ingredients manufactured in China.