Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau and his delegation met senior officials of Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Centre of Regulatory Excellence (CoRE) at Duke-NUS Medical School today.

During the meeting with HSA Chief Executive Officer Prof Raymond Chua, Prof Lo said protecting public health and tackling public health challenges transcend borders and international co-operation is indispensable.

The health chief added that he looked forward to Hong Kong and Singapore collaborating to create synergy and share the best practices to bolster public health protection and promote medical innovation, thereby further strengthening the healthy and steady development of the healthcare systems in both places.

After the meeting, Prof Lo and Singapore's Coordinating Minister for Social Policies & the Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung jointly witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the regulation of drugs and medical devices and tobacco control policy by Director of Health Ronald Lam and Prof Chua.

The MOU aims to enhance co-operation between the two places in areas such as regulation of drugs and medical devices, promoting tobacco control policy and enforcement, as well as regulatory capacity enhancement and training.

During the meeting with the CoRE founding Executive Director Prof John Lim, Prof Lo introduced the initiatives put forward by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, including strengthening the approval regimes for drugs and medical devices, as well as establishing the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation by the end of 2026 to foster growth in the local healthcare and biotechnology industries.

Prof Lo also gained insights on CoRE's significant contributions to Singapore's healthcare regulatory system over the past decade through capacity building, strengthening collaboration and fostering innovation.

Hong Kong is pressing ahead with reforms of the regulatory system of drugs and medical devices to address evolving healthcare needs and the rapid development of advanced treatment technologies.

Prof Lo noted that the valuable experience of CoRE in nurturing talent and promoting regulation of drugs and medical devices provides practical and useful reference for the Hong Kong’s ongoing reforms.