Advocating additional support for pandemic preparedness as well as the Cancer Moonshot program, the Biden administration has proposed $2.1 billion in extra 2023 funding for the FDA. The potential 34% increase over the $6.25 billion budget for this year would bring the agency’s purse up to $8.39 billion. The White House has also requested $5 billion to be earmarked for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA‑H) initiative, which would be another significant funding boost; the $4 billion hike from this year’s total would bolster new technology development as well as biomedical innovation.
“The funding outlined in this year’s FDA budget request is critical to fulfilling the agency’s mission as we continue our work on a wide range of COVID-19 and non-COVID priorities,” said Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D. The agency is backing the request by citing its quick and effective pandemic-era actions, in particular the speedy authorization and approval of various COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. The money would help it augment its regulatory capacity in line with modern standards as well as beef up its laboratory infrastructure and IT resources in case of further pandemic strains or high-consequence biological hazards.
Relaunching the Cancer Moonshot program entails a requested $20 million in one-time funding. The program aims to reduce cancer death rates by at least half over the next quarter-century through early diagnosis and new treatment discovery for deadly and rare cancers.
