MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that will allow terminal patients to have access to new medications that are still going through the Food and Drug Administration’s stringent approval process.
Inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Gabe Griffin from Shelby County, the right-to-try legislation will allow new medications already in the human trial portion of FDA approval to be tried by patients with terminal, life-threatening illnesses.
Gabe’s father, Scott Griffin, said that the bill could be a lifesaver for his son, who suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a muscle-deteriorating disease that currently has no cure, but has seen several advancements in treatment, all of which are still in the FDA’s testing phase.
“At 9 years old, Gabe walks, hugs, breathes, and feeds himself like any other typical child that age, but that will be taken away in the next few years if we don’t find a cure,” Mr. Griffin said. “Without a cure, Gabe is expected by doctors to be in a wheelchair by the time he is 10 to 12 years old and lose his life around the age of 20.”
“As we get further down the road with Gabe’s terminal condition, we are running out of time,” said Griffin. “As a father, the last thing I want to do is sign my son up for a clinical trial where he may receive a placebo drug. If a drug is safe enough to be in an FDA trial where humans are already taking it, then Gabe should have the right to be guaranteed access and that is what this is about to Traci and I as his parents.”
Last year to raise awareness of Gabe’s condition and the importance of right-to-try legislation, the Griffin family’s Hope 4 Gabe foundation organized a 3,400 mile bike ride across the country with Alabamian Michael Staley.
Senator Cam Ward (R-Alabaster), who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, said in a press release following the vote, “Terminal patients should have a right to try, and as a father and an elected official I believe we should do everything we can to help remove unnecessary bureaucratic red tape from the process so that doctors and terminally ill patients can determine the best course of action in each individual situation.”
Representative April Weaver (R-Briarfield), who is the chair of the House Health Committee, will guide the bill through the Alabama House of Representatives.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
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