I think you're identifying a huge problem. Right now what I'm seeing, especially in the U.S., is that lawsuits are now taking the place of the regulatory role.
If you take a look at, for example, antipsychotic medications, one I'm familiar with is Zyprexa. A very significant side effect is weight gain. Patients put on about ten pounds, and then they get diabetes. Maybe ten pounds is too little. They put on a lot of weight right after going on the drug, and they get diabetes. Diabetes, as you may well know, is very serious. It leads to hardening of the arteries and all of the cardiac conditions and limb and eye problems. It sets you up for lifelong physical degeneration. This is for treating perhaps schizophrenia or perhaps depression. I have even heard of off-label prescribing of these drugs for children.
One of the reasons they say these side effects were not picked up is that the pre-market clinical trials were maybe three months. Maybe they were six months. I don't know what it is in this case. Thousands of patients in Canada and the U.S. now suffer from diabetes as a result of taking Zyprexa. There was a class action lawsuit in the U.S. settled out of court. Patients have now received a lot of money because now they're saddled with diabetes.
If you're telling me that we're not getting the drugs out there fast enough so patients can take them fast enough, I'm saying you're trying to get them up faster so that patients can acquire these illnesses or side effects that are far more deleterious sometimes than the conditions they're trying to treat. If you're telling me that is a better system, I don't see the logic.