NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The General Assembly has approved legislation allowing Tennessee doctors to offer personalized treatments for patients with terminal illnesses. The Individualized Investigational Treatment Act, or House Bill 192, sponsored by State Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, expands the Right to Try Act passed by the General Assembly in 2015. “I’m thrilled to see House […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The General Assembly has approved legislation allowing Tennessee doctors to offer personalized treatments for patients with terminal illnesses.
The Individualized Investigational Treatment Act, or House Bill 192, sponsored by State Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, expands the Right to Try Act passed by the General Assembly in 2015.
“I’m thrilled to see House Bill 192 create an opportunity for Tennesseans to access individualized treatments tailored to each patient,” Terry said. “While the Right to Try Act provided a pathway for terminally ill patients to join general treatment trials, this bill expands that process to include these cutting-edge, personalized therapies.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a lengthy process to approve new medications and it can take years that terminal patients often don’t have.
President Donald Trump signed a federal Right to Try Act in 2018, but science has outpaced the law. Since then, treatments like gene therapies, which use specific molecules to alter genes in the body, and custom-made vaccines targeting specific cancer cells have emerged.
Tennessee joins several states like North Carolina and Mississippi who have enacted similar legislation.
The Individualized Investigational Treatment Act heads to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature in the coming weeks.
Bryan Terry, MD, represents House District 48 which includes the eastern half of Rutherford County.
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