Broadening its oversight of clinical trials for which it has become a regional hub over the past decade, South Korea this August announced a five-year plan to broaden testing opportunities for new drugs while better protecting the rights of patients participating in... Read More
As electronic labeling of pharmaceuticals and therapeutic products becomes more prevalent, Singapore’s Health Science Authority this summer issued guidelines to ensure the labeling systems provide needed information to consumers and regulators. The electronic labels—often dependent on USSD codes that link to labels... Read More
Moving to centralize decision-making on drug reimbursement practices, China’s National Healthcare Security Administration has drafted a plan to decrease the ability of provincial governments to make adjustments to the prices of pharmaceuticals. The agency, which since its formation last November has played... Read More
Four years after China established a pilot program enabling drug license holders to use third parties to manufacture their products, the National Medical Products Administration in August launched a database to allow drug makers and the public to more easily access information... Read More
With clinical research and regulatory filings booming in China, regulatory authorities are receiving a record number of drug applications for new clinical trials and drug approvals. Last year, more than 5,500 applications for technical review were filed with China’s Center for Drug... Read More
Japan’s health ministry will conduct a survey to evaluate drug pricing in advance of the regular biennial pharmaceutical price revision slated for April 2020. The decision to conduct the survey was solidified in June, when the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, commonly referred... Read More
A cutting edge cancer therapy from Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis that genetically modifies a patient’s own immune cells to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia is now covered by Japan’s national health insurance system. The drug, Kymriah, is more expensive than any other cancer... Read More
The use of genetic or molecular profiling, known as precision medicine, is growing in popularity and usefulness throughout Asia, as doctors become more adept at selecting treatments that are most likely to help patients based on a genetic understanding of their disease.... Read More
Two years after Hainan Island, a popular Chinese tourist destination off the south coast of China, first emerged as a medical tourism hub, its authorities continue to grant special approval to foreign drugs and medical devices not legally available in mainland China.... Read More
Cancer killed almost 115,000 Vietnamese last year, as the burden of the disease continues its 30-year rise in the country, the World Health Organization reports. The most common type of cancer among men in Vietnam is liver cancer, followed by lung, stomach... Read More