WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) today released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 5247, the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2018, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 267-149 vote:

“Each year, many North Carolinians receive the heartbreaking news that they are facing a terminal illness and may only have limited time left with their families. Intrusive regulations and teams of bureaucrats should not prevent terminally ill individuals from seeking a cure. The President called for this policy change in his State of the Union Address, and now the House is giving patients hope and the ‘right to try.’”

The "Right to Try" Act creates a new alternative pathway for patients who have exhausted other options to access investigational treatments which have passed basic safety trials but not yet earned approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You can read the full text of the legislation here.