Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing their agreement to further strengthen cooperation between the two government agencies. Both agencies are responsible for regulating drugs and health-related products... Read More
A recent survey conducted by the Political and Economic Research Consultancy (PERC), a Hong Kong based research group, gave South Korea 5.88 points on a scale of 0 to 10 for intellectual property (IP) protection (0 being the highest level of IP... Read More
In early April 2003, the Japanese government took its first steps towards granting patents to medical procedures. A council for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry drafted a plan that would allow patents to be granted for medical techniques associated with... Read More
The recent recall of over 200 health care products in Singapore has caused the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to investigate ways to strengthen their regulatory control of health care products, particularly, health supplements. On May 9, 2003, the HSA recalled products produced... Read More
Authorities in Guangdong, China have changed medical regulations in the province to allow individuals to invest in the pharmaceutical sector. Previously, only enterprises, or companies were allowed to apply for licenses to produce medicines. Individuals desiring to invest in pharmaceuticals needed to... Read More
According to a recent survey conducted by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and Ho Chi Minh City’s health departments, retail prices of almost 800 drug products have been marked up this past year, some have increased to over double their original prices. The... Read More
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak that occurred in the beginning of 2003 has caused many Asian countries to fortify their national health systems. Among them, China has announced 11 billion RMB (US$1.3 billion) in new funding for their troubled national... Read More
The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) is currently implementing plans to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea’s pharmaceutical industry. The main goals of the MOHW include establishing a more comprehensive base for research and development for pharmaceutical products in Korea. Among... Read More
Japan’s recent food-related scares have prompted the Japanese government to take more serious measures in addressing the country’s food safety. Last year, Snow Brand Food Products Co., was involved in highly publicized scandals involving the distribution of foreign meats labeled as domestic... Read More
The Chinese government’s efforts to control the skyrocketing prices of pharmaceuticals in China are threatening the profit margins of foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers. The government’s measures to control drug prices has been two fold, the first is the implementation of a competitive bidding... Read More