DES MOINES, Iowa (Feb. 24, 2016) – An Iowa bill that would nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients unanimously passed the Senate today.

The Senate State Government Committee introduced Senate Bill 2198 (SF2198) and issued a report approving the legislation on Feb. 16. The bill would enable terminally ill patients to access to medications and treatments not yet given final approval for use by the FDA.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits general access to experimental drugs. However, under the expanded access provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 360bbb, patients with serious or immediately life-threatening diseases may access experimental drugs after receiving express FDA approval.

SF2198 would bypass the FDA expanded access program and allow patients to obtain experimental drugs from manufacturers without first obtaining FDA approval. This procedure directly conflicts with the federal expanded access program and sets the stage to nullify it in practice.

The Senate passed SF2198 by a 50-0 vote.

A section of the bill’s text reads:

A manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product, or device may make available and an eligible patient may request the manufacturer’s investigational drug, biological product, or device under this chapter. This chapter does not require a manufacturer of an investigational product, or device to provide or otherwise make available the investigational drug, biological product, or device to an eligible patient.

Under the proposed law, a manufacturer would not be required to charge the patient, though it may do so. It does not require insurance providers to cover the cost, nor does it prohibit them from doing so. The law also provides protection to health care providers, with a prohibition against revoking a license or issuing sanctions based on recommendation or issuance of such investigational treatments. It also prohibits lawsuits against physicians who comply with the terms specified in the law.

Although these type of bills only address one small aspect of FDA regulation, they provide a clear model that demonstrates how to nullify federal statutes that violate the Constitution. The strategy narrows the influence of nullification to limited aspects of the law itself, which has proven to be very effective.

“The Right to Try Act is a no-brainer,” said Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center. “When someone is on their deathbed, the fact that FDA regulations would let them die rather than try, has got to be one of the most inhumane policies of the federal government. Every state should nullify the FDA like this.”

Iowa looks to join twenty-four other states that have approved Right to Try legislation. The momentum has built very quickly behind this idea, with most of these states passing these laws within the past year alone. This rapid progress shows that Americans from across the political spectrum intuitively understand that these FDA regulations are harmful and must be mitigated through state-level action.

Rep. Rob Taylor introduced a companion bill in the House (HF2231).

SF2198 now moves on to the House for further consideration.

ACTION ITEMS

For Iowa: Support this bill by following all the steps at THIS LINK.

For other states: Take action to support Right to Try at this link.

Mike Maharrey

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