A proposed measure in Wyoming’s legislature would give terminally ill patients access to drugs not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Patients would be able to access drugs and devices that have already successfully completed clinical trials and shown promise to be effective, but are not yet approved by the FDA. The drug’s manufacturer would then work with patients and doctors to provide the experimental drug.
Republican State Senator Bruce Burns is sponsoring the bill. He says this bill could offer hope to patients who have run out of options.
"The reason for the bill is that FDA approval takes on the average over ten years and millions of dollars. And unfortunately for those with terminal illness a lot of them don’t have that much time," he says.
Four states currently have Right to Try laws in effect. The proposed bill will be considered by the legislature when it reconvenes in January.