Funding

Why Advocate for FDA Funding?

The Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN) strongly supports adequate federal funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to hasten the discovery of much-needed new treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s disease.  Currently, state-of-the-art treatment for Parkinson's is based on a 40-year-old pharmaceutical therapy, which only treats some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.  No therapies exist that will slow or stop progression of the disease.  In addition, central nervous system drugs, including therapies for Parkinson's disease, are the slowest in the drug development pipeline – an average of 15-20 years for new therapies to get to market.  Recognizing the urgent need for breakthrough therapies for Parkinson’s disease, PAN supports robust funding for the FDA.

PAN is a member of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, a coalition of more than 185 nonprofit and industry groups working to increase annual appropriations for the FDA.  The FDA is funded through a combination of Congressional appropriations and fees paid by drug and device sponsors, as regulated by Congress.

Current Funding Efforts

Fiscal Year 2011 Funding

On April 14, 2011, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government for the rest of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, which runs through the end of September.  That bill included an increase in funding for FDA of $107 million versus its FY 2010 funding.  Those dollars are largely allocated to food safety programs.  The drug and devices offices will essentially be flat-funded through FY 2011.

Fiscal Year 2012 Funding

In June, the House of Representatives voted on the FY 2012 Agriculture/FDA Funding Bill and approved $285 million to the FDA’s budget – which would result in a funding reduction of about 11.5% from FY 2011.  Every area of FDA activity will sustain cutbacks as a result.  PAN submitted a letter to the Committee and Subcommittee chairs and ranking members citing our support for robust FDA funding in FY 2012. 

By contrast, the Senate is considering - and is expected to vote very soon on - an Agriculture/FDA Appropriations Bill which includes approximately $50 million for FDA over the agency's FY11 funding level. This means there is a difference of $335 million between the House and Senate positions on FDA funding for FY12. PAN, together with partners in the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, is advocating for Congress to approve the higher Senate figure.