We are in dialogue with the pharmaceutical industry as to why there is still a difference in times of filing. They give us a number of reasons.
They find it difficult sometimes to work with more than one regulator at the same time, so we are trying through international co-operation and work sharing to minimize that obstacle. We are actually encouraging through a number of our projects that companies can file to Canada and another regulator at the same time, and we will work share on those submissions so that they are basically only dealing with one party.
There are other factors, of course. Unfortunately, it is a business decision for manufacturers, the whole drug marketing, so we are doing as much as we can to encourage that information.
We are internationally harmonized with respect to the requirements for drug approval so that companies can file one dossier that is applicable to all regulators. Also, we have what we call a common portal with the U.S. FDA so companies can now file simultaneously for approval to Canada and the U.S. through one common filing portal. That has improved the situation.