> Do you know what else sounds like a recipe for killing people? Not allowing people to access therapeutics that might save their life because it hasn't yet gone through regulatory approval yet for whatever reason (delays, too expensive to submit), etc.
Should we at least demand more specific criteria than "X _might_ save their life", like threshold of suggestive evidence? There will always be lots of stuff that hasn't been closely studied, the effects of which we can only partially describe. You could isolate any new molecule from some previously unknown bacterium and say it "might" be a treatment for any disease, but that's just a statement of our own ignorance right?
If we say, "so long as it hasn't been conclusively shown to _not_ beneficial for the patient's disease, then it _might_ help them, so it should be fair game", then that seems to open the door to quacks selling snake oil to desperate dying people and their families. And of the unenumerable list of potential "it might work because we haven't yet shown that it doesn't" chemicals, why shouldn't unethical practices pick the most expensive options available?
"Of course you must understand there can be no guarantees with any treatment, and this may be a long shot, and precisely because of the lack of prior studies we cannot even give you any efficacy numbers. But we're at the cutting edge of medical science! Please make out a check for $500k and sign this waver and we can begin treatment as soon as possible."
> Should we at least demand more specific criteria than "X _might_ save their life", like threshold of suggestive evidence? There will always be lots of stuff that hasn't been closely studied, the effects of which we can only partially describe.
We do, it's part of the FDA process and is determined on a case-by-case basis considering alternative treatments, disease course and intervention safety amongst other variables.
It's how the vast majority of stroke and novel cancer therapies are currently being approved.
Should we at least demand more specific criteria than "X _might_ save their life", like threshold of suggestive evidence? There will always be lots of stuff that hasn't been closely studied, the effects of which we can only partially describe. You could isolate any new molecule from some previously unknown bacterium and say it "might" be a treatment for any disease, but that's just a statement of our own ignorance right?
If we say, "so long as it hasn't been conclusively shown to _not_ beneficial for the patient's disease, then it _might_ help them, so it should be fair game", then that seems to open the door to quacks selling snake oil to desperate dying people and their families. And of the unenumerable list of potential "it might work because we haven't yet shown that it doesn't" chemicals, why shouldn't unethical practices pick the most expensive options available?
"Of course you must understand there can be no guarantees with any treatment, and this may be a long shot, and precisely because of the lack of prior studies we cannot even give you any efficacy numbers. But we're at the cutting edge of medical science! Please make out a check for $500k and sign this waver and we can begin treatment as soon as possible."