House to Vote Tuesday on ‘Right to Try’ Drug Legislation

The House has scheduled a vote for Tuesday on the “Right to Try Act,” which would enable sick patients to try medical treatments not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders confirmed Sunday that they would consider an “updated” version of the bill Tuesday after making a few changes to the Senate version of the bill, which passed unanimously in August.

The House version of the legislation gives further clarification on what type of patients can request the non-FDA approved drugs, defining patients as those who will be likely to die “within a matter of months” or those who would be likely to face a “severely premature death.”

A GOP committee spokesperson also said that the House version “improves patient protections” by requiring that the FDA be notified if a patient is receiving experimental medication through the right to try law.

Patients can ask for an investigational drug, but drug companies are not required to give them the medication.

President Trump has signaled that this legislation is a priority for the White House in his State of the Union address in January and wants Congress to pass the legislation.

Vice President Mike Pence, who signed right-to-try legislation while serving as Indiana’s governor, has also tried to work with the House to get the legislation passed.