Sequestration takes its toll on FDA user fees paid by industry

The automatic budget cuts known as the federal sequester have taken approximately $85 million in medical device and pharmaceutical FDA user fees away from the agency, the White House's Office of Management & Budget has confirmed. MassDevice reported the news, noting that the cuts are expected to continue. The device and drug industries pay user fees to help fund FDA operations, but the sequester has taken away part of the money and left it in an inaccessible account. In other words, the money is essentially in limbo. Some in Congress are calling for legislation that exempts the FDA user fees from sequestration. Story