Terminally Ill People Want More Access to Experimental Treatments. Here ’s Why Doctors Are Pushing Back

Doctors and medical ethicists are criticizing a bill supported by President Donald Trump that would allow people with fatal illnesses to have access to drugs not yet approved by federal authorities. “Right to Try” is a policy that Trump mentioned during his State of the Union Address on Jan. 30. “People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure — I want to give them a chance right here at home,” he said. “It is time for the Congress to give these wonderful Americans the ‘right to try.'” Right-to-try laws have passed in some 38 states. While no one wants to argue against giving potentially beneficial drugs to people who need them, not everyone in the medical community is convinced a national right-to-try policy—which has been introduced in the House—will ultimately make life better for patients. The bill for the federal law was passed by Senate in August by unanimous consent. For a drug to be approved for use in the United States, it must undergo several rounds of clinical testing, a process that can take several years. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—the agency that oversees that approval process—does already have a system in place, often referred to as compassionate use, for getting unapproved drugs to people who are out of other options. Physicians can submit an Emergency Investigational New Drug (EIND) application to the agency if their patient ha...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized compassionate use compassionate use act compassionate use drug experimental treatment FDA Food and Drug Administration Goldwater Institute healthytime medicine right to try right to try act right to try bill right t Source Type: news