Montana Lawmakers Send ‘Right To Try Act’ to Governor Bullock

A law to give terminally ill patients access to medicines that have passed Phase 1 of the FDA approval process but are not yet on pharmacy shelves has passed the state House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Gov. Steve Bullock has 10 days to sign or veto the bill once it reaches his desk. SB 142—the Montana Right To Try Act—is sponsored by Senator Cary Smith.

Right To Try laws are already in place in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota and Wyoming. Twenty five additional states are considering the law this year. Lawmakers in Virginia and Utah have sent similar bills to their governors for approval. The national bipartisan effort to give terminally ill Americans access to investigational medications is being led by the Goldwater Institute.

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.