Annual Report 2005 - Singapore Manufacturing Federation

LIFE SCIENCES
INDUSTRY GROUP (LSIG)
Chaired by Ms Gwen Goh
of Malaysia Chemist (Pte)
Ltd, the Life Sciences
Industry Group (LSIG)
comprises of two subindustry
groups - the
Singapore Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers’ Council
(SPMC) and the Singapore
Pharmaceutical Trade
Organisation (SPTO).
Besides meeting regularly to discuss
issues on regulations and registration,
the LSIG seeks to improve the industry
standard and skills of employees.
Members have been active in training
programme like the “Essential Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Principles
for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers” and
in inviting the Workforce Development
Agency (WDA) and Temasek Polytechnic
to present on Validation Specialist
Programme and courses offered to the
pharmaceutical industry.
On 11 April 2005, a dialogue session with
the Intellectual Property Offi ce of Singapore
(IPOS) was well attended by 20 members.
This was led by Mr Koe Khoon Poh,
Chairman of Singapore Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers’ Council (SPMC) and Mr
Yeo Siew Meng, Chairman of Singapore
Pharmaceutical Trade Organisation
(SPTO). IPOS educated participants on
the purpose of patents and the effective
management of intellectual property (IP).
It also elaborated on the approaches to
the Search and Examination Process
to access patent-related information,
the patent application process fl ow and
international application under the Patent
Co-operation Treaty (PCT).
The inaugural dialogue between SPTO and
General Procurement Offi ce (GPO) was
held on 14 March 2005 at GPO Offi ce,
Singapore General Hospital. Mr Yeo Siew
Meng, SPTO Chairman, led a 14-member
team while Mr Foo Hee Jug, Group Chief
Procurement Offi cer of GPO presented on
changes to the procurement process and
the four basic procurement principles.
Hosted by the Centre for Drug
Administration (CDA) of the Health
Sciences Authority (HSA), with support
from industry players - Singapore
Association of Pharmaceutical Industries
(SAPI), SMa’s Singapore Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers’ Council (SPMC) and
Singapore Pharmaceutical Trade
Organisation (SPTO), the 10th ASEAN
Consultative Committee for Standards
and Quality (ACCSQ) Pharmaceutical
Product Working Group (PPWG) Meeting
was held for the fi rst time in Singapore
from 23 to 26 August 2005 at the Grand
Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. This meeting
underscored Singapore’s leadership in
integrating the healthcare sector in ASEAN.
Formed in 1999 and initiated through the
ACCSQ, the PPWG’s aim is to develop the
harmonization schemes of pharmaceutical
regulations of ASEAN member countries to
complement and to facilitate the objectives
of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) without
comprising on the quality, safety and
effi cacy of drugs used in ASEAN.
About 250 participants from ASEAN Drug
Regulatory Authorities, the pharmaceutical
industry, representatives from the World
Health Organisation (WHO) and the ASEAN
Secretariat met to discuss technical issues
at the 10th ACCSQ PPWG.
Coinciding with the 10th ACCSQ PPWG
Meeting, the 2nd ASEAN Pharmaceutical
Industry Club (APC) Meeting was held on
24 August 2005 to gauge the readiness of
APC members to implement the ASEAN
Common Technical Dossier (ACTD) Quality.
It was well attended by key representatives
from the Malaysian Organisation of
Pharmaceutical Industries, SPMC,
Philippine Chamber of the Pharmaceutical
Industry, Inc., Thai Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers’ Association and the
National Board Indonesia Pharmaceutical
Association.
On 23 September 2005, SPMC Chairman,
Mr Koe Khoon Poh led a 15-member
team in the fi rst dialogue session between
SPMC and CDA to deliberate on drug
registration, Good Manufacturing Practices
(GMP) and inspection.
Following the fi rst dialogue between SPTO
and CDA in December 2004, the second
dialogue was held on 31 October 2005.
Led by SPTO Chairman, Mr Yeo Siew
Meng, challenges and practical issues
related to drug registration, PRISM - an
electronic system for the online submission
of drug registration and patents were
discussed.
53
Singapore Manufacturers’
Federation
Annual Report 2005