On the recordNovember 21, 2019
Madam Speaker, I rise today to share my concerns with patient access to groundbreaking and lifesaving ALS treatments. This is a very personal issue to me as some of my close friends and neighbors have been affected by this difficult disease. I applaud the enactment of the Right to Try Act, allowing some people another option to receive the treatments they need. However, this should not be the end of the conversation. It is important to acknowledge that the passage of this act has not opened all the doors we expected, and many are still denied access to treatments. The FDA's lengthy approval process continues to limit patient access, at times forcing my constituents to spend large sums of money traveling overseas for treatment or, more commonly, forfeiting treatment altogether. The use of stem cells to treat ALS, widely used and deemed safe in other countries, has been studied in the U.S. for over 12 years but has yet to be approved, despite its fast-tracked status. Delaying approval of this treatment, commonly known as NurOwn, is putting lives at risk. I urge the FDA to prioritize its approval and give access to thousands of ALS patients. ____________________
