The legislation allows patients with life-threatening conditions to ask drugmakers for medicines that have cleared some testing but still haven’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
- President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had been major supporters of the “right-to-try” legislation, which would bypass drug regulators to give gravely ill patients access to experimental medicines.
- Proponents say this gives patients hope they would not otherwise have.
- Critics say the legislation undermines the FDA’s authority to regulate drugs and could leave patients vulnerable to medicines that might not work or may even be harmful.
More progress and long overdue. My daughter had cancer at 19, one of the drugs that increased her chances of survival had just been released back then. Prior to that drug survival rates were 50/50 and with that drug, they have been about 94%.
Source: Trump signs ‘right-to-try’ legislation on experimental medicines
“could leave patients vulnerable to medicines that might not work or may even be harmful.”
If you’re terminally ill, then what the hell difference does it make? Who can be a critic of this idea? TDS sufferers I assume.
Exactly. If they’re only giving you six months to live, what do you have to lose? It’s called “right to try” for a reason.
Saw this a lot in nuclear medicine with patients who were hopelessly terminal but who had been denied additional chemotherapy or radiation therapy b/c ‘it might be dangerous’. Bullshit. If I’m sure I’m going to croak, give me every damn drug you can think of. Also, fill my ass with pain medication. I’ve seen that, too, with patients telling me their doctor wouldn’t prescribe more/stronger pain medication for fear of making the person dependent. Just absolutely criminal in my opinion. Make them pain free to the greatest extent possible.
Screw the FDA…there have been NUMEROUS cures discovered for cancer, but “son of a gun” not here!! Why? because it would rob the pharmaceuticals of a fortune! Damned pharmaceuticals are not wanting people cured, they want them to keep SPENDING MONEY! if they die…oh gee, they died, ok, bring on the next sucker! imho!!!
Adjust your tinfoil.
100% behind this. If you’re dying anyway, no potential side effect is going to be a deterrent. I would add one proviso – since the patients are essentially test subjects, all such usage should be FREE to the patient.
I like the American Flag lapel pin the on little dude’s suit.
Nicely done on the signing of the “right-to-try” legislation, Mr. President.
Yeah, and he’s awfully cute too.
I agree with David – free! One thing that is so stupid it hurts, here’s the actual situation as it went down a few years back. My wife’s grandma was in a nursing home, down to about 80 pounds. The staff didn’t want her to have sausage biscuits cause they worried about her high blood pressure. The wife and her dad went in and said look you idiots, she’s about dead – give her whatever the hell she wants to eat.Damn – just damn the way some people think.
My dad (LtCol D) had screaming high cholesterol for most of his adult life, and was on a severely regulated diet as a result. About the time he hit 70, his doc said “you have 15 other health issues that’re gonna kill you long before cholesterol does, and you’re protein deficient on this diet. Eat whatever the hell you want”. There was much rejoicing.
Agreed, good for your wife and father in law!!
How DARE he give sick and/or dying people any extra bit of hope? Oh, the humanity!
Good on you Prez, keep stackin’ up those wins.
This is several months old, although it may be new to most of us here and is, nonetheless, good news.
“Published 2:00 PM ET Wed, 30 May 2018”
I’m not knocking posting it here, but trying to forestall someone thinking this just happened and getting embarrassed.
May 2018 DID just happen. Cripes. I’ve seen stories here that were two and three years old. As Jonn used to say, “It’s new to me.” And as for someone getting embarrassed, that someone would be Dave Hardin and Dave Hardin does not get embarrassed. I thought he was once. His face was red. Then I learned it was sunburn. Besides, you have seen the bathrobe and tights pick of him, haven’t you?
I pray to every deity I can think of to un-see it.
Well….if you didn’t pray to the right one, you were wasting your time 😉
What bad will libs make of this decision?
Oh, have no fear – they will. Maybe something along the lines of it’s not FAIR! What about all those other people? (You know the ones, except that none of us actually does know.)
They will insist that a committee be appointed to monitor all this, that the ethics be questioned, and that impact studies be conducted. All to accomplish nothing except to slow the process down until they can show a negative impact to somebody, and all their trial attorneys get rich(er).
You will know they have attained their goal when you see TV commercials for class action lawsuits.
The usual media sources were out there saying the sky was going to fall if the bill was passed. They have a whole laundry list and a stable full of experts who vehemently oppose this.
https://www.newsweek.com/koch-brothers-conservative-groups-behind-trumps-right-try-bill-796185
Glad he did this, even if the news is several months old. These experimental drugs will wor for some but not for all. There is only one way to find out and that is to let them try.
I agree that they should be free to those who use them.