WASHINGTON (Reuters), Sep 27 - Biotech companies, medical device makers, and food manufacturers joined patient groups and three former U.S. health secretaries on Monday in calling for increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). WASHINGTON (Reuters), Sep 27 - Biotech companies, medical device makers, and food manufacturers joined patient groups and three former U.S. health secretaries on Monday in calling for increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Coalition for a Stronger FDA said the agency does not receive enough money from the federal budget to handle the vast activities Congress has mandated and to give the public the level of protection it expects.

The FDA regulates about one-quarter of the U.S. economy, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs, most foods, and medical devices.
Members of the coalition include former health secretaries Tommy Thompson, Donna Shalala, and Louis Sullivan; 19 patient and consumer groups; and lobbying groups for biotech companies, medical device makers, and food product manufacturers.

Thompson said the FDA was a "poor stepsister" that had not seen the same budget increases as other public health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

"Over the last 20 years the FDA has been asked to do far more.... We want to be able to give them the resources to be able to carry out (their) responsibilities and duties," Thompson said at a news conference.

An Institute of Medicine report released on Friday said the FDA was chronically underfunded and needed significantly more money and staff to better track the safety of medicines after they reach the market.

A separate coalition called the FDA Alliance that was formed earlier this year also is pushing for a boost in funding for the agency. Its members include seven former FDA commissioners.

Part of the FDA's budget comes from industry user fees, which some consumer groups oppose. The two coalitions are focused on increasing the funding that comes from taxpayers.