[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H9126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PRIORITIZE TREATMENT FOR ALS

  (Mr. CURTIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CURTIS. 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.

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