Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to strengthen regulatory collaboration on health products. The agreement expands the use of regulatory reliance mechanisms, allowing both authorities to leverage each other’s assessments, inspections, and regulatory decisions to improve efficiency while maintaining high standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. A key element is mutual reliance on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspections and certificates, reducing duplicative oversight and administrative burdens for manufacturers. The MoC also promotes cooperation across the full product lifecycle—from clinical trials and product evaluation to manufacturing and post-market surveillance—and supports information sharing on advanced therapies and emerging health technologies, with the goal of accelerating patient access to innovative medical products.
(Source: BioSpectrum Asia)