The CEO of a B.C. biotechnology company says the treatment his firm has developed for COVID-19 is sitting on shelves while people continue to die, despite it being approved for use by Health Canada in the fall.
"Canada was quick to authorize it. The federal government moved quickly to procure it. So we signed a procurement agreement and bought doses back in November But because of some decisions that happened at the provincial and territorial level, through committees that are making decisions on recommendations of use, thus far this treatment has been used in almost no one in Canada.
The U.S. FDA approved it for use in patients 12 years of age and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and who display mild to moderate symptoms but are at risk of progressing to a more serious form of the illness.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/abcellera-bamlanivimab-carl-hansen-kapelos-1.5974126
If there is no sufficient data then why FDA and Health Canada approved the treatment? Why they didn't conditionally approve it while monitoring the data like US did?
Do we have too many governments and decision making bodies in Canada?, Too much of costly bureaucracies and duplications and hence higher taxes and more waiting times for things to be done in Canada?.