Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • beats
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    • California Dream
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Roots
    • Eclectic
    • Videos
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight
    • The View From Here
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • Insight Music
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • CapRadio Travels
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support / Underwriting
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Volunteering
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • Health Care
  •  

Federal Right To Try Law Could Mean More Access — And Risk — For California Patients

  •  Sammy Caiola 
Thursday, May 31, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
A. / Flickr
 

A. / Flickr

California’s Right to Try law is supposed to give terminally ill patients access to drugs that haven’t been fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Since it was enacted in 2017 drug companies have been reluctant to participate. A new federal law signed by President Donald Trump Wednesday could solve that problem, but opponents say it will undermine the FDA’s crucial drug-vetting process.

Drugmakers worry that if they give experimental drugs that only have passed the first phase of clinical trials to dying patients and they suffer adverse effects, the FDA will be less likely to approve the drug when it comes time for an official review.

The federal Right to Try law provides broader legal protections for drug companies than the California version does, and limits the FDA’s access to data collected through Right to Try patients.

Naomi Lopez Bauman is director of health care policy for The Goldwater Institute, a free-market organization that helped push through California’s policy and similar laws in roughly three dozen states. “The federal legislation takes a step further in providing protection for liability for manufacturers who would be willing to participate in Right to Try,” she said. “That could go a long way in making manufacturers more comfortable.”

Supporters of the law say it helps patients who are running out of time zip past the FDA’s red tape. But David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, said that tape is there for the patient’s own good.

“It gives them a process for doing that that’s vetted, to make it as safe as possible,” he said, “while also promoting what we want as a top priority: which is to actually do the research to find drugs that are safe and effective to give to everybody.”

Magnus worries that if the FDA isn’t overseeing early access to drugs, they won’t be able to track any negative side effects that Right to Try patients experience.  He argues that information could be pertinent as the drug moves through the clinical trial process.

The federal law also expands who’s eligible to use Right to Try. California law states that a patient must have just a few months to live. Under the federal policy, anyone with a life-threatening condition who has exhausted all other options can ask for the drugs.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

 right to try

Sammy Caiola

Healthcare Reporter

Sammy Caiola has been covering medical breakthroughs, fitness fads and health policy in California since 2014. Before joining CapRadio, Sammy was a health reporter at The Sacramento Bee.  Read Full Bio 

 @sammycaiola Email Sammy Caiola

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

More Health Care Stories

Gabriella Angotti-Jones for NPR

'The Separate and Unequal Health System' Highlighted By COVID-19

January 21, 2021

Anne Wernikoff / CalMatters

‘Tedious, Stressful’: Why Older Californians Are Still Struggling To Get Vaccine

January 23, 2021

Andrew Nixon / CapRadio

Sacramento County Is Expanding Vaccinations At Cal Expo, But Not Yet For The General Public

January 21, 2021

Most Viewed

First Major Storm This Year Hits Northern California, Bringing Flash Flood And Even Blizzard Warnings

California Coronavirus Updates: Newsom Pushes Back Against Reopening Critics

California Coronavirus Updates: State Releases Formula Behind ICU Projections

Environment Experts To Newsom: Now’s Your Moment

Gov. Gavin Newsom Navigates Compounding Crises — And A Potential Recall — Halfway Through His Term

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

First Major Storm This Year Hits Northern California, Bringing Flash Flood And Even Blizzard Warnings

California Coronavirus Updates: Newsom Pushes Back Against Reopening Critics

California Coronavirus Updates: State Releases Formula Behind ICU Projections

Environment Experts To Newsom: Now’s Your Moment

Gov. Gavin Newsom Navigates Compounding Crises — And A Potential Recall — Halfway Through His Term

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2021, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.