Brian Norman is the Director of State Affairs at the Goldwater Institute, where he leads the Institute’s nationwide government affairs strategy. Brian works with lawmakers, Governors, and other elected officials in states across the country to advance Goldwater Institute reforms. Prior to joining Goldwater, Brian served as a Policy Advisor for Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, focusing on housing, economic development, workforce development, and regulatory issues. In that role, he worked with senior government officials, agency department directors, and external stakeholders to implement the governor’s agenda. Brian was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he has lived in Arizona since 2016. He graduated from Louisiana State University and holds a J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.
Topics
Appearances (1)
2026-03-03
The Goldwater Institute’s Brian Norman Discusses Right to Try 2.0 and Patient Access to TreatmentsIn the latest episode of the Health Policy Podcast, Brian Norman, Director of State Affairs at the Goldwater Institute, discusses the Right to Try 2.0 legislation aimed at improving patient access to individualized treatments. The initiative seeks to streamline the regulatory pathway for patients with rare diseases to access investigational drugs, building on the original Right to Try Act established in 2014. Norman emphasizes the need for reform in the FDA's drug approval process to better accommodate personalized medicine and address the challenges faced by patients with limited treatment options.
Notable quotes
“There are a myriad of government interventions that interfere with free markets when it comes to healthcare and also interfere with the ability for individuals to make their own healthcare decisions.”
“In the United States of America, we are falling behind other countries... getting these individualized treatments to market.”
“For rare and ultra rare disease patients, those mass market drugs are not getting the job done.”
“The story of the Riley family is the perfect illustration of why Right to Try 2.0 is necessary.”
“These are patients who are out of options and they need to try anything available to them to try to improve their condition.”
“At the end of the day, if a doctor thinks this might help, then I should be able to pursue that or not.”
