It sounds like a humane and overdue change to federal drug regulations: Allow desperately sick patients to ask for experimental new medicines if they're willing to take the risk. And give drugmakers a break on liability if they provide them to patients.
The idea, known as "right-to-try," got a huge boost Tuesday night when President Donald Trump mentioned it in his State of the Union address. “People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure—I want to give them a chance right here at home. It's time for the Congress to give these wonderful, incredible Americans the 'right-to-try.'” he said, surprising the health care industry and publicly citing for the first time an idea that Vice President Mike Pence had been pushing for a year.
