Singapore: The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) and China's State Food and Drug Administration Institute of Executive Development (SFDAIED) have signed a memorandum of understanding, creating a cooperative framework to further international education and training for regulatory professionals in China and the US.

RAPS is the largest global organization of and for healthcare product regulatory professionals, and SFDAIED is the arm of China's SFDA that provides education and training to the country's regulatory authorities and professionals overseeing food, drugs and other healthcare products.

The agreement establishes medical devices as a priority focus area for RAPS and SFDAIED, and outlines high-priority projects to be undertaken in the earliest stages. The two organizations have agreed to work together to develop a high-level international workshop on medical device regulation, integrate RAPS' training programs into SFDAIED's training system and develop training on Chinese medical device regulation for RAPS' highly regarded global web-based training program, RAPS Online University.

"Healthcare products and medical technology are developed, manufactured and marketed all across the world today. These products and the work that goes into creating them and making them available is not confined within national boundaries, and neither should the best training and resources be for those who regulate them," said RAPS Executive Director Ms Sherry Keramidas, FASAE, CAE. "This collaboration between RAPS and SFDAIED will help regulatory professionals in industry and government in both China and the US further their regulatory knowledge, building global regulatory capacity that can help improve public health for the people of both nations and beyond."