The Oklahoma House on Thursday, April 30, 2026, signed off on Senate Bill 933, a proposal that would create the Right to Try for Individualized Treatments Act and open a new legal path for certain patients to pursue customized investigational therapies after standard options are exhausted. The vote sends the measure back to the Senate, which will decide whether to accept House changes. Supporters frame the bill as a way to let patients seek precision treatments closer to home, while critics of similar “right-to-try” laws in other states have warned that such measures can raise safety, oversight and equity concerns.
According to the Oklahoma Legislature, SB933 authorizes “individualized investigational treatments,” described as therapies developed around a patient’s unique genetic makeup, and allows eligible patients to pursue them with physician approval and informed consent. The bill makes clear that manufacturers are not required to provide such treatments and insurers are not required to cover them. Backers say the goal is to expand options for Oklahomans who have run through all approved therapies.
“Medicine is changing fast, especially when it comes to treatments built around a person’s genetic makeup,” Rep. Marilyn Stark, R-Bethany, said in a press release from the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, who authored the measure in the Senate, described the bill as a way to “broaden access to innovative treatments” and said it could offer “hope to terminally ill patients who have exhausted all approved options,” according to the same release. The House statement notes that SB933 now heads back to the Senate for consideration of House amendments.
How the law would work
Under SB933, individualized investigational treatments could be offered through eligible facilities that operate under a Federalwide Assurance for the Protection of Human Subjects, the Oklahoma Legislature summary states. Manufacturers or facilities may provide these treatments without compensation. The bill includes liability protections for providers and manufacturers acting in good faith and specifies that a patient’s heirs would not be responsible for treatment-related debts if the patient dies while receiving an individualized investigational therapy. It also bars state entities from blocking a patient’s access to an individualized treatment.
Where it goes next
Legislative tracking shows the Senate approved SB933 on March 10, and House committees recorded “do pass” recommendations in early and mid-April, setting up Thursday’s floor vote. With the bill now returned to the Senate, lawmakers will have to decide whether to sign off on House amendments before the measure can move to the governor’s desk, according to LegiScan.
Legal implications and questions
Supporters argue the legislation expands choices for patients who have no approved therapies left. But researchers who have examined right-to-try laws say the track record is mixed at best. A review of right-to-try and expanded access pathways highlights criticisms such as sparse systematic reporting of outcomes, potential financial burdens on patients, and little evidence that the laws help large numbers of people. These are issues lawmakers may face as SB933 advances, according to the Journal of Translational Medicine. Patient advocates and legislators will also be watching whether manufacturers participate and how hospitals and payors respond if the bill ultimately becomes law.
