Senate approves $275M to FDA, $400M to NIH

FDA and NIH net Senate approval for increased funding. Source: East Carolina University

The FDA and National Institutes of Health (NIH) received funding increases in the FY 2008 Supplemental Appropriations bill that the Senate passed May 23.

In its $400 million appropriation to NIH, the Senate bill recognizes the need for increased appropriations for the NIH to fund about 700 research grants. The Senate also issued $275 million for the FDA, $437 million for the construction of polytrauma centers administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and $350 million for hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi as part of relief from Hurricane Katrina.

Of the $275 million for the FDA, $48 million will go to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and $23 million to the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The funding will provide the FDA with the resources to keep pace with evolving biomedical science and make regulatory decisions in a timely and efficient manner, according to the agency.