FDA stakes claim to federal budget to improve medical product, food safety

The proposed budget includes a bid for financial support of tougher tobacco legislation passed in 2009.

The FDA has requested $4.03 billion from the federal budget for the 2011 fiscal year, representing a 23% increase in the agency’s current $3.28 billion budget.

The proposed budget would cover the period of Oct. 1, 2010 to Sept. 30, 2011 and includes requests for additional funding to improve food safety inspection and response capacity ($318.3 million); drug, vaccine and device safety regulatory operations ($100.8 million); and product development pathways ($25 million). Funding to support the agency’s ability to further regulate tobacco products ($215 million) was also included in the proposed budget.

The request “reflects the FDA’s resolve to transform food safety practices, improve medical product safety, protect patients and modernize FDA regulatory science,” according to a press release, with the overall goal of advancing public health.

“The fiscal year 2011 resources will strengthen our ability to act as a strong and smart regulator, protecting Americans through every stage of life, many times each day,” FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, said in a press release. “This budget supports the ability for patients and families to realize the benefits of science that are yielding revolutionary advances in the life and biomedical sciences.”