Ige Vetoes Experimental Drug Bill
Hawaii governor issues his first veto on a measure he considers unnecessary at best, a compromise to consumer protections at worst.
Gov. David Ige has already brought out his veto pen, spiking a measure that would let terminally ill patients try investigational drugs before the federal Food and Drug Administration approved them.
The Legislature approved last month, but the governor decided Friday to issue his first veto of the year.
鈥淲hile admirably seeking to increase access to potentially life-saving drugs, this measure unreasonably compromises the consumer protections provided by the FDA鈥檚 expanded access program,鈥 Ige said in a .
The governor said that the measure may also be unnecessary given that federal regulations already exist to govern the sale and distribution of investigational drugs.
There were 25 states at the end of 2015 that had enacted “right-to-try” legislation that makes available experimental drugs without FDA approval to terminally ill patients with no other medication or treatment options, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The legislative session ends Thursday. The House and Senate planned to spend Tuesday and听 Thursday giving final votes to bills.
The governor has 45 days from sine die to veto bills. He must provide a list of those he intends to veto 35 days from Thursday.
