Obama administration opposes House budget

The Obama administration said the FDA budget cuts for FY12 proposed by the House Appropriations Committee would "severely limit" FDA's ability to regulate medical products, including biosimilars. The comments came in a statement of administration policy published Monday in response to H.R. 2112, which would reduce overall FDA spending by 11.5% compared to FY11 and lower appropriations for drugs and biologics oversight (see BioCentury Extra, May 24).

The administration also "strongly opposes" a section of the bill that would prohibit funding meant to allow FDA to restrict the use of a product unless the decision is based on "hard science" and not on "factors of cost and consumer behavior" (see BioCentury Extra, June 2). ...