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Article: Terminally ill have 'fundamental right' to unapproved drugs.(Washington, D.C.)
- Article from:
- Trial
- Article date:
- July 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 American Association for Justice, formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA®). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In a decision many lawyers believe will end up before the Supreme Court, the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled, 2-1, that terminally ill patients have a "fundamental right" guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Constitution to obtain experimental drugs that have not been fully approved by the FDA. (Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. von Eschenbach, 445 F.3d 470 (D.C. Cir. 2006).)
The decision reinstates a lawsuit that sought to enjoin the FDA from barring the sale of post-Phase I investigational new drugs--those considered safe for expanded human testing--to terminally ill patients who have no other treatment options. The ...