WHY CAN’T I HAVE ACCESS TO EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS?

WHY CAN’T I HAVE ACCESS TO EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS?

WHY CAN’T I HAVE ACCESS TO EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS? 150 150 Dan Frith

On August 20, the Wall Street Journal published letters to the editor addressing a previously published opinion piece by Ronald Trowbridge, an adjunct scholar with the Abigail Alliance, and Steven Walker, co-founder of the Alliance, about a decision earlier this month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court held that terminally ill patients do not have the right to obtain access to unapproved experimental drugs that potentially are lifesaving.

According to Trowbridge and Walker, the Abigail Alliance, which filed the lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2003, has pushed for access to 12 experimental drugs that if “available to people denied entry to clinical trials” might have “helped more than one million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters live longer, better lives”

I say bravo to the Abigail Alliance! Can anyone tell me why, when faced with certain death, I should be prohibited from knowingly assuming the risks of unproven treatment which might allow me to live?

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About the author

Dan Frith

Dan Frith has over 25 years of experience representing individuals and families in cases of medical malpractice throughout Virginia. He has been named "Best Medical Malpractice Attorney" by Roanoker Magazine and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. To speak with Dan, contact him by email at dfrith@frithlawfirm.com.

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