Visit to Four Southeast Asian Countries for the 14th APAC － Our Mission： To bring innovative medicines to the people of Asia々 to the people of Asia in a timely manner －
Jan. 20, 2025
The Asia Partnership Conference of Pharmaceutical Associations (APAC), which will be held for the 14th time in 2025, will be held on April 22, 2025 at Keidanren Kaikan (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo).
In preparation for the 14th APAC, we recently visited APAC member industry associations and pharmaceutical regulatory authorities in four ASEAN countries. The following is a report on the contents of these visits.
In preparation for the annual APAC, we have been visiting mainly the industry associations that are members of APAC in Southeast Asia and the regulatory authorities in those countries to provide an overview of the conference to be held in Tokyo in the spring and to request participation from the authorities. This activity was interrupted by the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), but resumed in 2024 after a five-year absence.
We visited the regulatory authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand for about a week at the end of November 2024, in cooperation with our sister organizations in each country, to exchange opinions and to learn about the 14th APAC, participate in conferences, dispatch speakers/panelists to sessions, etc. The regulatory authorities in the four countries visited requested cooperation in the following areas.
As the top management of the regulatory authorities in the four countries visited will change in 2024, this meeting provided a very meaningful opportunity to introduce the activities of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ) in Asia, to promote awareness of APAC, and to build new networks.
Indonesia
Meeting with the National Pharmaceuticals and Food Regulatory Authority (BPOM)
Meeting with Indonesian sister organization (IPMG)
Malaysia
Meeting with the National Pharmaceuticals Regulatory Authority of Malaysia (NPRA)
Meeting with PhAMA (Malaysia's sister organization)
Singapore
Meeting with Health Sciences Authority of Singapore (HSA)
Interview with Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (SAPI)
Thailand
Interview with Thai FDA (Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health, Thailand)
Meeting with Thai sister organization (PReMA)
As in previous years, the 2025 program will consist of five sessions and special presentations on drug discovery in the drug lifecycle, regulations related to drug application and licensing, and solutions to issues related to improving access to medicines. We expect many participants from industry, regulatory authorities, and academia in Japan and abroad, and look forward to lively discussions.
(APAC Project)