WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will have to explain to a court this week why it won’t shed more light on an internal decision to allow at least two Americans who contracted Ebola to take a drug that wasn’t yet approved.
It’s the latest salvo in a legal case that could have broader implications for the ongoing campaign to pass a federal “right-to-try” law, in which advocates are aiming to help dying patients get access to other drugs the FDA hasn’t yet approved.
The Goldwater Institute, a libertarian tank tank, went to court in 2015 to force the agency to provide more information about how it decided to approve the use of the Ebola drugs, suggesting it believes the FDA may not have followed its own rules in the high-profile emergency situation. The agency has declined to share the information, citing rules governing the disclosure of commercial information and patient privacy. It has until Friday to offer a more thorough explanation of that position.
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