FDA requests $750M budget increase for FY 2011

The FDA is requesting $4.03 billion, an increase of 23 percent over the agency’s current $3.28 billion budget, as part of President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget.

In the Obama Administration's budget, released Monday, it proposed $2.5 billion in budget authority and $4 billion in total program resources for the FDA.

According to the agency, the majority of the requested budget increase will be funneled toward medical product safety, the protection of patients and the modernization of FDA regulatory science.

The Protecting Patients Initiative--which will receive $100.8 million of the requested budget--will provide resources in supporting the safety of drugs, devices and vaccines, as well as the U.S. blood supply, said the agency.

The investment into advancing regulatory science, according to the FDA, will allow the agency to improve product development and approve new technologies that may offer new opportunities to diagnose, treat, cure and prevent disease, and would receive $25 million of the new budget.

“The FY2011 resources will strengthen our ability to act as a strong and smart regulator, protecting Americans through every stage of life, many times each day,” said Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, FDA commissioner. “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.”