Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We know that, to date, only PAXLOVID has been approved as an antiviral drug. I have already asked about molnupiravir, for which an application was filed in August 2021. The application for authorization for PAXLOVID was submitted in December 2021 and was approved in January 2022. Mr. Lucas had said that it was coming, and he informed us of that several weeks ago now. I wonder what's wrong.
In my opinion—and I imagine Dr. Tam would agree—there are specific interactions between PAXLOVID and other drugs, so a second antiviral drug that doesn't have the same problematic interactions cannot be avoided. These interactions are due to a particular ingredient in PAXLOVID that is not in molnupiravir.
When will molnupiravir be approved?
Is there a problem? We've been waiting for this approval for a long time.