'Right to Try' bill heads to Trump's desk after House OK

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., back right, reaches for the arms of ALS sufferers Frank Mongiello, left, and Matthew Bellina, during a news conference following the passage of the Right to Try Act at the Capitol in Washington. (Associated Press)

The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would allow those with deadly diseases to try experimental treatments and bypass the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The vote was seen as a victory for the Trump administration, which supports the plan.

The so-called Right to Try Act of 2017, which the Senate passed nine months ago, cleared the House in a party-line vote of 250-169.

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U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., the House bill’s sponsor, called the vote “an enormous accomplishment” that “will give significant hope to many Americans facing terminal illnesses.”

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., the bill’s original sponsor, said in a statement that Tuesday’s House vote “restored a little freedom and hope to terminally ill Americans.”

The measure would help terminally ill patients get access to “investigational medical treatments where no alternative exists,” according to Johnson’s statement.

Scott Gottlieb, head of the FDA, tweeted before the vote that he stood ready to carry out the House’s legislation.

Democrats critical of the bill said it will “peddle false hope” and place patients at risk by “allowing the sale of snake oil.”

Over 100 groups representing patients and research groups called the final legislation “unsafe” in a letter Tuesday.

President Donald Trump endorsed the effort in January’s State of the Union address.

"People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure. I want to give them a chance right here at home," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.