Bullock Signs ‘Right To Try Act’ Into Law

Governor Steve Bullock has signed SB 142, the Montana Right To Try Act, into law. The Right to Try Act allows doctors to prescribe medicines to the terminally ill that are being used in clinical trials but are not yet on pharmacy shelves. Right To Try expands access to potentially life-saving treatments years before patients would normally be able to access them. SB 142 was sponsored by Senator Cary Smith.

Right To Try laws are already in place in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. Lawmakers in North Dakota have sent a similar bill to their governor for approval. Twenty additional states are considering the law this year.

Right To Try is limited to patients with a terminal disease that have exhausted all conventional treatment options and cannot enroll in a clinical trial. All medications available under the law must have successfully completed basic safety testing and be part of the FDA’s on-going approval process.