Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 11 May in Beijing to enhance their regulatory collaboration on health products. This renewed agreement aims to expedite access to innovative health products for patients in both countries by expanding the scope of cooperation to include emerging areas such as cell, tissue, and gene therapy products.
The expanded partnership is set to strengthen regulatory convergence and foster industry engagement, potentially streamlining the development and market access for new therapeutics and medical technologies. Both agencies will continue to share regulations, information, and best practices, and will collaborate on inspections and testing to combat counterfeit and substandard health products.
The MOU, signed by Adjunct Professor Dr Raymond Chua, CEO of HSA, and Huang Guo, Commissioner of NMPA, builds on a 2021 agreement that covered chemical drugs, biological products, and medical devices. This renewed focus on cell, tissue, and gene therapy products reflects the rapid growth in medical innovation and aims to enhance regulatory capabilities and responsiveness whilst maintaining safety and efficacy standards.
HSA and NMPA have a longstanding relationship, dating back to their first MOU in 2003. This collaboration reinforces Singapore’s status as a global regulatory hub for healthcare innovation and opens new opportunities for industry and researchers. Currently, HSA has approved approximately 35 medicines and over 1,000 medical devices manufactured in China.
Dr Raymond Chua stated, “This renewed MOU reflects the strong and enduring partnership between HSA and NMPA and our shared commitment to enabling innovation whilst safeguarding public health.”
