Terminally ill protestors, along with their families, supporters and members of Congress, rallied on the West Lawn of the Capitol on Thursday, demanding the right to use experimental drugs that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The protestors repeatedly blamed the FDA for the lack of access to these drugs and pushed their support for the Right to Try Act of 2015. The bill states the Federal government should not take any action to prohibit or restrict the use of an experimental drug, biological product or device that has been authorized by state laws and completed the first phase of a multi-level approval process. So far, 30 states have approved the legislation, although it has no Democratic sponsors.
Earlier this month, the FDA simplified the application process for "compassionate use," which allows patients with incurable diseases to take experimental drugs in a final attempt to extend their lives. From 2010 to 2015, the FDA granted 99 percent of compassionate use requests. However, compassionate use approval from drug companies is voluntary. Some manufacturers reject requests if they feel the drug does not meet the patient's needs or because of possible liability if the drug harms the patient.
"It’s up to a company to decide if they are going to give anything away. Unless Congress is ready to start making companies give away their products, which I think is somewhere between unlikely and never going to happen, talking about the FDA doesn't do anything to get people access," said Arthur Caplan, PhD, director of medical ethics at New York University School of Medicine.
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