A bipartisan bill U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) helped push forward to improve access to experimental treatments for patients with terminal diseases or conditions received approval on May 22 from the U.S. House of Representatives in a 250-169 vote and now awaits the president’s signature.
Rep. Fitzpatrick had met with House leadership on May 17 to advocate for action on the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act, also known as the Right to Try Act.
“After years of debate, the House of Representatives sent the President a bipartisan bill that gives American patients and families facing an unimaginable situation the opportunity to fight for their lives or for the lives of their loved ones,” Rep. Fitzpatrick said.
The new House-approved Right to Try Act of 2017, S. 204, specifically would permit certain unapproved, investigational drugs to be given to a terminally ill patient who has exhausted approved treatment options and is unable to participate in a clinical trial involving the drugs, according to the congressional record summary.
S. 204 received unanimous approval last year in the U.S. Senate. Rep. Fitzpatrick on March 13 introduced the companion bill, H.R. 5247, which received House approval on March 21. U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) was an original cosponsor of the bill. However, the slightly different H.R. 5247 failed to advance in the Senate after U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) placed a hold on it without explanation, preventing consideration of the bill, according to a statement from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Now, though, the House’s bipartisan vote sends “groundbreaking” legislation to President Trump’s desk, said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and the panel’s Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-TX) in a joint statement the full committee released on May 22.
“Today’s vote is a beacon of hope for the patients who are desperately seeking the ‘right to try’ investigational treatments and therapies,” the lawmakers said. “While some Senate Democrats want to block vulnerable patients from accessing investigative drugs, we refuse to let them delay any longer.”
Advancement of the Right to Try Act has been a top legislative priority for Rep. Fitzpatrick.
“For those patients caught between the traditional drug approval delays, a clinical trial process for which they do not qualify, and limited time, the Right to Try gives patients, like Matt Bellina and Frank Mongiello, a new pathway to potentially life-saving treatments,” he said.
The bill also has been championed by Vice President Mike Pence, who as former governor signed Indiana’s Right to Try law, according to information from the congressman’s office. President Trump also called for passage of the proposal during his State of the Union Address earlier this year.
“We look forward to working with the Trump Administration, who have been staunch advocates for this important policy, and the Food and Drug Administration to ensure this soon-to-be law is carried out effectively,” Reps. Walden and Burgess said.
Rep. Fitzpatrick’s staff noted that almost 40 states, including the congressman’s home state of Pennsylvania, have their own Right to Try laws on the books.
Jim Worthington, owner of the NAC Have a Heart Foundation, the charitable arm of the Newtown, Pa., Athletic Club which raises funds for ALS research, said, “A huge debt of gratitude must go to Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick who introduced this bill in Congress and has been its champion from the very start.”