High Court Declines Experimental Drugs Case
Lawyer Blogs
[##_1L|1093514793.jpg|width="104" height="138" alt=""|_##]The Supreme Court refused Monday to review a ruling that terminally ill patients have no constitutional right to be treated with experimental drugs — even if that means the patient will likely die before the medicine is approved. A federal appeals court, siding with the Food and Drug Administration, last year said the government may deny access to drugs that have not gone through extensive testing and received FDA approval. The process can take years.
The Supreme Court did not explain its decision to leave the appeals court ruling undisturbed. Chief Justice John Roberts did not take part in the action.
The Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs and the Washington Legal Foundation sued the FDA in 2003, seeking access for terminally ill patients to drugs that have undergone preliminary safety testing in as few as 20 people but have yet to be approved.
Abigail Alliance was created by Frank Burroughs, whose daughter, Abigail, was denied access to experimental cancer drugs and died in 2001. The drug she was seeking was approved years later.
The alliance said all it was asking for "is a right for terminally ill patients with no remaining treatment options to fight for their own lives."
The FDA said the appeals court was correct and in line with other rulings "that have rejected constitutionally based demands for access to unapproved investigational drugs."
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against the alliance after a smaller panel of the same court held that terminally ill patients may not be denied access to potentially lifesaving drugs.
The court said patients can access experimental drugs in certain situations and suggested Congress could change the law to broaden such access.
Related listings
-
US Lawmakers Request Probe into Wealth Funds
Lawyer Blogs 01/11/2008U.S. Senate lawmakers have ordered federal investigators to examine foreign state-run investment funds and whether the much-needed capital infusions being provided to major U.S. banks raises any economic or security concerns. The Government Accountab...
-
Supreme Court to hear Indiana voter ID law
Lawyer Blogs 01/09/2008[##_1L|1360226867.jpg|width="131" height="91" alt=""|_##]Democrats and Republicans square off before the Supreme Court Wednesday over a law that requires voters to produce photo identification before they can cast a ballot. The strictest voter ID law...
-
Supreme Court rules against local firm
Lawyer Blogs 01/09/2008A Lapeer County gravel operation lost out to the federal government on Tuesday in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could influence thousands of similar cases.In a 7-2 ruling, the justices said Metamora-based John R. Sand & Gravel Co. waited too l...
New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.