House committee to discuss right-to-try bill

The House Rules Committee will meet on March 19 to consider a right-to-try bill, setting the stage for a vote by the full House, which would require a simple majority for passage, as early as next week.

The bill stalled in the House on Tuesday when Republicans could not muster sufficient votes to push the legislation through under a fast-track procedure that requires a two-thirds majority. The bill received 259 votes in favor, while 140 House members, almost all Democrats, opposed the measure (see BioCentury Extra, March 13).

The Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 2018 (H.R. 5247) seeks to authorize using investigational treatments for terminally ill patients.