FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and related activities are funded at $567.59 million for fiscal 2007 under the continuing resolution passed by Congress Feb. 14 and signed into law Feb. 15.

CDER funding includes $34.9 million for the Office of Generic Drugs - an increase of 16 percent over fiscal 2006.

The CDER total responds to FDA's concerns it would have to make new cuts in full time equivalents without additional funding, and should help the agency "maintain current staff levels and workload and provide a slight increase in generic drug review capabilities," according to a release from the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"The FDA has already lost nine FTE in the Office of Generic Drugs, and this increase will allow FDA to hire back those FTE and will allow for 10 additional approvals or tentative approvals per month," the committee said.

The CDER figure exceeds 2006 levels by 11.5 percent, and surpasses the president's 2007 budget request by nearly 3 percent. The president's 2008 budget request, released Feb. 5, asks for $570.99 million for the drug center and related field activities (¹ Also see "Congressional ’07 Budget Proposal Would Limit CDER Capabilities – FDA" - Pink Sheet, 12 February, 2007., p. 13).

The approved spending bill, H.J. Res. 20, also funds the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and field activities at $453.18 million, up 3.3 percent from fiscal 2006. The president's budget request for 2008 seeks $466.7 million (² Also see "CFSAN Expects Funding Proposed By Congress Would Slow Food Safety Work" - Pink Sheet, 12 February, 2007., p. 14).

Earlier versions of the 2007 spending bill proposed maintaining 2006 levels for the food center. However, FDA said it would have to eliminate 120 FTEs from CFSAN field programs if that version had passed, as well as reduce critical activities such as inspections.

The approved CFSAN appropriations also exceed the president's 2007 budget request.

Overall, FDA's 2007 appropriations of $1.557 billion exceed 2006 by 6 percent.

- Christopher Walker (c.walker@elsevier.com)

FDA 2007 Appropriations For Food, Drug Centers Outstrip Bush Request

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