TO CREATE THE RIGHT TO TRY INDIVIDUALIZED INVESTIGATIONAL TREATMENT ACT; AND TO ENSURE THAT PATIENTS HAVE ACCESS TO INDIVIDUALIZED INVESTIGATIONAL TREATMENT.

Arkansas' SB 136 (now Act 201) creates a "Right to Try" pathway for patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses who have exhausted all FDA-approved treatments. It allows access to personalized investigational treatments (like genetically tailored gene therapies or vaccines) based on a patient's unique genomic profile, provided a physician documents eligibility and obtains written informed consent covering risks, costs, and alternatives. The bill specifies that manufacturers may provide treatments without charge or require payment for actual production costs, but heirs are not liable for unpaid costs if the patient dies. Insurance companies may cover these treatments but are not required to, and the law does not expand mandatory coverage for such treatments.