Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today opposing House Republicans’ Right-to-Try legislation:
“I strongly oppose this bill that puts vulnerable patients at risk by completely removing the Food and Drug Administration from the review or oversight of access to investigational therapies. This legislation simply is not needed - 99 percent of expanded access requests are already approved by FDA under the current system.
“It also provides false hope to patients and their families, who will assume they will have access to investigational therapies even though the bill does nothing to require manufacturers to provide these therapies to the patient.
“Rather than rush to pass a bill that was hastily unveiled over the weekend without careful consideration or bipartisan consensus, we should work together to find a sensible path forward that protects patients and upholds FDA’s approval process while ensuring patients, with no other recourse, have access to investigational therapies."
