M'sia, S'pore Mark Major Milestone With MoU Between MOH And HSA

SINGAPORE, March 29 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia's Ministry of Health (MOH). This is an important milestone for both parties as HSA is the first national drug regulatory agency, MOH is signing an MoU with. The MoU-signing ceremony was presided by Singapore's Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, with his Malaysian counterpart Liow Tiong Lai also present to witness the signing between Assoc Prof John Lim, chief executive officer of HSA, and Eisah A. Rahman, senior director of the Pharmaceutical Services Division (PSD) of Malaysia's Health Ministry, here. The MoU seeks to strengthen, promote and develop pharmaceutical regulatory cooperation in areas that include regulatory science, enforcement, post-market vigilance, good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good clinical practices (GCP) for clinical trials. "Today's signing is very significant for Malaysia because we will be able to have more understanding in terms of joint inspection to fight counterfeit or illicit drugs and will also be able to share information on pharmaceutical matters. "We should be able to conduct more training together. So, I see that this will be a win-win situation for both," Liow said after the signing ceremony. In the past, Liow said both countries only used multilateral ways of working together with Singapore in this sector. "So, I think it is high time that we have bilateral cooperation. It is a new milestone for us that we work to benefit both countries. I am also confident that after the MoU, we can bring in more investors to Malaysia." Liow also pointed that there were many similarities between Malaysia and Singapore, citing that in future both nations would not have to duplicate all the drug registration," he said, adding that Malaysia exported about RM600 million worth of drugs a year to the world and aimed to do better. Meanwhile, Lim, said: "This is a very significant MoU for HSA. "We have had a strong professional and collegial working partnership with the NPCB (National Phamaceutical Control Bureau) for many years and I am delighted to further consolidate this through signing our MoU. "This establishes a common platform for open sharing of regulatory updates and regular dialogues between our two agencies. "Prompt information exchange ensures that we are current about each other's regulatory issues and challenges, and allows us to work closely to be even more responsive and ready to promote public health and safety effectively within our region." -- BERNAMA