Effort To Ease Terminally Ill Patients’ Access To Experimental Drugs Gets White House Support
Backing of the legislation is part of an overall push from the president to streamline the Food and Drug Administration. In other news, the agency says it will stop redacting information in resumes submitted by experts who serve on its advisory committees.
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Backs ‘Right To Try’ Law For Terminally Ill Patients
The White House is giving a big boost to proponents of a federal Right to Try law that they contend would give terminally ill patients easier access to medicines that haven’t won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Some supporters of the bill met Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence, and last week they won a supportive statement from President Donald Trump, who has been contending that too many FDA rules in general pose unnecessary hurdles to drug approval. (Burton, 2/7)
Stat:
FDA Won't Hold Back Info About Advisory Committee Members
In a potentially significant policy shift, the Food and Drug Administration plans to stop redacting portions of the resumes submitted by scientific and medical experts who serve on its advisory committees. The change comes in response to a lawsuit that was filed last year by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, which argued the redactions were unlawful and robbed the public of the opportunity to understand the extent to which any of the expert advisors may have conflicts. (Silverman, 2/7)
Meanwhile, at the Environmental Protection Agency —
Stat:
EPA Staff Fear Cuts To Health Programs Under Trump
The Environmental Protection Agency’s advisory panel on children’s health gathered last week to consider a few items that had long been on its agenda: getting lead out of water, cutting pollution-related asthma, and educating doctors about toxins in toys. The panel also took up an issue that few members could have foreseen several months ago: keeping the program off the chopping block. Caroline Cox, a member of the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, suggested a letter to the incoming EPA chief, touting the economic benefits of protecting children from pollutants that can damage their brains or cause illness later in life. (Kaplan, 2/8)
