Right to Try Act

A U.S. law that allows patients access to certain drugs that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The patient must be unable to receive the drug in a clinical trial and must have a life-threatening illness for which other treatments are not available. Drugs used under the Right to Try Act must have been tested in a phase 1 clinical trial (the first step of testing a new treatment in people) and must be undergoing study to be approved by the FDA. Companies who develop and make drugs determine whether to make their products available to patients who qualify for access under the Right to Try Act.