Singapore strengthens regulatory cooperation with Indonesia for medicine & health products
January 28, 2026 | Wednesday | News
To enhance public health protection through shared safety monitoring and quality assurance
Image credit- shutterstock
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking a significant milestone in cross-border health product cooperation.
Both agencies have achieved World Health Organization (WHO) Listed Authority (WLA) status, which recognises that their regulatory systems meet WHO’s highest international standards for oversight of medical products, providing a strong foundation for regulatory cooperation.
The MoU enables both agencies to share information on regulatory matters pertaining to medicines and complementary health products, to enhance public health protection through shared safety monitoring and quality assurance of these between Singapore and Indonesia.
It covers priority areas, including joint assessment of medicines and complementary health products, clinical trial regulations, emerging areas such as advanced therapy medicinal products and artificial intelligence initiatives in drug regulation, staff training programmes, and post-market safety surveillance of approved products.
HSA Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor (Dr) Raymond Chua said, "Collaborative relationships like what we have with our Indonesian counterpart are essential in today's interconnected world, where health challenges require coordinated responses and shared expertise. Quick information exchange enables timely responses to new health threats, and ensures regulatory decisions are based on the latest safety, quality and efficacy data available. By working together, we can better protect public health in Singapore and Indonesia while building stronger regulatory frameworks that benefit both our jurisdictions, and provide avenues for more efficient regulatory pathways for businesses seeking market access in both countries."
Chairperson of The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority, Professor (Dr) Taruna Ikrar said, “Through this MOU, The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority expects to further deepen collaboration with HSA, particularly as both authorities have attained WHO Listed Authority status. This shared achievement provides a strong foundation to advance joint initiatives, strengthen institutional capacity, and further align regulatory practices with internationally recognised standards, with the ultimate goal of enhancing public health protection across the region.”
