Problems with Vioxx prompt Bush's call for beefed-up FDA drug-monitoring programs

• The Bush administration proposed on Monday a 24 percent increase in funding for the Food and Drug Administration office that monitors the safety of drugs after they hit the market.
• The proposal follows last year's withdrawal of a well-known painkiller and charges that the FDA pays too little attention to serious side effects that emerge after drugs win approval.
• The additional $6.5 million would be used in part to hire 25 more employees for the Office of Drug Safety, Kathy Heuer, the FDA's chief financial officer, said in an interview.
• About $1.5 million of the new money would come from congressionally mandated industry user fees, which pharmaceutical companies pay in exchange for faster reviews of their products.
• This money would be used to hire five of the new reviewers, Heuer said.
• The increased funding was part of President Bush's proposed budget for fiscal 2006, which starts Oct. 1.
• The drug safety office came under scrutiny last year when a veteran scientist said his FDA supervisors ignored or downplayed his warnings about risks of Merck & Co. Inc.'s arthritis drug Vioxx.
• Charles Grassley, who held a pivotal hearing in November over Vioxx's withdrawal, said he would still push for greater independence for the safety office.
• "In addition to more resources, I want to make sure the drug safety office gains independence from the office of new drugs," said Grassley, an Iowa Republican.
• Bush budget papers said the added money for the safety office would also fund access to a range of databases to help scientists spot potential problems with prescription drugs.
• Overall, the FDA budget would increase by $81 million to $1.9 billion in fiscal 2006 under Bush's plan.