Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Unapproved Drugs Case

Scott Kappes

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On Monday the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeals case involving terminally ill patients' constitutional rights to experimental dugs that have not been approved by the FDA The case was originally filed 2003 when the Washington Legal Foundation and the Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs initiated a claim that the FDA's policy of restricting terminally ill patients' access to unapproved drugs was unconstitutional. An appeals court ruled in August that no such right exists and that the FDA was well within its boundaries to restrict this access.

The FDA issued a statement saying that the agency is pleased with the action or lack thereof by the Supreme Court and that they are satisfied with the ruling of the lower court. The FDA maintains that as the drug authority in this nation they believe that new medication must be shown to be safe and effective before they can be administered to the public. The FDA does allow some access to some unproven therapies through special access programs.

For more information no this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices and Implants.