US Congress rejects 'right to try' legislation

The US House of Representatives has voted against the so-called "right to try" legislation, a proposal which would have permitted terminally ill patients in the USA to gain direct access to candidate therapies before they have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Under the proposals, any patient with a condition likely to cause death within months, or with "irreversible morbidity that is likely to lead to severely premature death” could request a medication under development, although drugmakers would not be obliged to provide it.

They would, however be afforded protection from any legal actions stemming from the use of such experimental drugs.