GOP platform urges Congress to adopt “Right to Try”

The platform adopted at this week’s Republican National Convention includes a provision urging Congress to enact “Right to Try” legislation, which allows terminally ill patients the opportunity to use drugs or devices that have yet to gain federal Food and Drug Administration approval.

The RNC platform, adopted in Cleveland, commends the 31 states, including North Carolina, that already have adopted “Right to Try” legislation. The N.C. General Assembly passed the legislation and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law in 2015.

“We’re thrilled to see that this issue that has been a really successful effort at the state level, reaching the top level of political engagement at the national level as well,” said Starlee Coleman, a spokeswoman for the Phoenix, Ariz.-based Goldwater Institute, which has pushed for the legislation at both the state and national levels. “That signals that you have struck a chord with the people as well.”

“When someone is going to die, the federal government shouldn’t stand in the way between them and a drug that can save their life,” Coleman continued.

Coleman said the Democratic National Convention won’t consider a “Right to Try” provision next week when it meets in Philadelphia. That’s because the platform already has been negotiated between surrogates for the two top contenders, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, she said.

However, Coleman said, “Right to Try” is not a partisan issue. In North Carolina, the law passed unanimously in both the Senate and the House.

“We have been very grateful that many Democrats have supported it,” Coleman said. “Seven Democratic governors have signed ‘Right to Try’ laws.”

Under North Carolina’s law, drug or device manufactures are allowed — but not required — to give patients access to products that have completed their initial phase of trials. Any company making good-faith efforts to comply with the “Right to Try” law is shielded from liability claims.

The law requires that a terminally ill patient seeking treatments that have not completed the FDA approval process must have tried or considered all other options already approved by the FDA. The patient’s doctor also must recommend the drug and attest that the patient meets all applicable criteria.

It also requires a patient to give “informed consent” before accepting an unapproved drug or device, acknowledging that it is unlikely any currently approved treatment would prolong the patient’s life while acknowledging the risks involved.