Trump gives terminally ill people 'Right to Try' experimental drugs
President Trump signed a bill on Wednesday that will let terminally ill people use experimental drugs, citing the meds’ ability to save “tremendous numbers of lives.”
“As I proudly sign this bill, thousands of terminally ill Americans will finally have the help, the hope, and the fighting chance ​. . . that they will be cured, that they will be helped, that they’ll be able to be with their families for a long time or maybe just for a longer time​,” he said at a White House ceremony.
He signed the bill, called Right to Try, ​joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and “brave Americans” fighting life-threatening conditions.
​The measure gives terminally ill patients the ability to seek drug treatments that​ haven’t been fully approved by the FDA.
More than 1 million Americans die from a terminal illness each year, the White House said.
During the ceremony, Trump also said that in two weeks, major drug companies will announce “voluntary drops in prices.”
“I think we’re going to have some big — some of the big drug companies in two weeks. And they’re going to announce — because of what we did, they’re going to announce voluntary massive drops in prices,” Trump said.