SINGAPORE, May 12 — Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to renew commitment to health product regulatory collaboration.

In a statement today, HSA said the renewed partnership will provide support for faster access to new and innovative health products for patients and healthcare systems in both countries.

It seeks to expand on the 2021 agreement, which covered the regulation of chemical drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, biological products, traditional Chinese medicines, medical devices, and cosmetics.

“The expanded partnership is expected to strengthen regulatory convergence and enhance opportunities for industry engagement.

“It potentially enables more efficient development, evaluation, and market access pathways for the new innovative therapeutics and medical technologies,” it said.

HSA noted that both agencies will also continue to collaborate on the exchange of regulations, information, and best practices.

The partnership also paves ways for potential joint efforts to combat counterfeit, falsified, and substandard health products, including collaboration on inspections of manufacturing facilities and testing. — Bernama