Right to Try Act
Latest action · Jun 7, 2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 4, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Right to Try Act
This bill requires the federal government to allow unrestricted manufacturing, distribution, prescribing, and dispensing of experimental drugs, biological products, and medical devices that are authorized by state law and intended to treat terminally ill patients. Patients receiving these treatments must be certified by a physician as having exhausted all other treatment options and as being at greater risk from their medical condition than the treatment. The physician must explain the treatment to the patient, including that the treatment is experimental, and the patient, or the patient's legal representative, must acknowledge the explanation.
A manufacturer, distributor, prescriber, dispenser, possessor, or user of such a treatment has no liability regarding the treatment.
The outcome of manufacture, distribution, prescribing, dispensing, possession, or use of such a treatment may not be used by a federal agency to adversely impact review or approval of the treatment.
The treatment must: (1) have successfully completed a phase 1 (initial, small scale) clinical trial; (2) remain under investigation in a clinical trial approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (3) not be approved, licensed, or cleared for sale by the FDA.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 4, 2017 to Feb 6, 2018, with 2 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AZ | Andy Biggs | Original | May 4, 2017 |
| D-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Original | May 4, 2017 |
| R-SC | Mark Sanford | Jul 17, 2017 | |
| R-PA | Lloyd Smucker | Jul 27, 2017 | |
| R-WV | Alexander X. Mooney | Feb 6, 2018 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 7, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Jun 7, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- May 5, 2017Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- May 4, 2017Introduced in House
- May 4, 2017Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 204 | Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2017 | Related bill | May 30, 2018 |
| HR 878 | Right to Try Act of 2017 | Related bill | Mar 2, 2017 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Civil actions and liability
- Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
- Drug therapy
- Health
- Health personnel
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Licensing and registrations
- Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Prescription drugs
- Product safety and quality
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 4, 2017Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.