
First Patient Treated Under Right to Try Law
Patient diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer became the first person in the US to access an experimental treatment under the Right to Try law of 2017. Right-to-try laws are U.S. state and Federal laws that were created to let terminally ill patients try experimental therapies (drugs, biologics, devices) that have completed Phase I testing but have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to BioCentury, FDA’s Oncology Center of Excell

FDA approves 18 drugs for cancer patients in 2018.
In 2018 CDER approved 59 drugs. Eighteen of those were for cancer patients. CDER used a variety of expedited development and regulatory review tools to seed drugs to market. Click on the image to see full FDA report.

US Cancer Death Rate declines.
Lower smoking rates are translating into fewer deaths. Advances in early detection and treatment also are having a positive impact, experts say. Click on image to see full article at AP.