The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Prescribe Types of Cosmetics, Criteria, Methods and Conditions for Refill Stations, B.E. 2566 (2023) and the Cosmetic Committee Announcement Re: Labeling of Cosmetic at Refill Stations, B.E. 2566 (2023). Both notifications were published in the Government Gazette on 23 August 2023 and will become effective on 21 November 2023. These notifications are intended to be in line with the global Bio-Circular-Green Economy trend, which seeks to reduce plastic waste and promote the recycling of plastic.

“Sustainability Solution EP.1 – Why ESG matters” is presented by our partners Yuthana Sivaraks, Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu and Panyavith (Taro) Preechabhan. In this episode, our team discusses the rise of ESG, its importance, and what this would mean for companies going forward. This video is in Thai with English subtitles.

In the second episode of our Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Industry series, the Healthcare and Life Sciences team at Baker McKenzie brings us up to date with the current laws and regulations relating to telemedicine and telepharmacy in Thailand and associated issues.

Under the current regulation, a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate obtained from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a voluntary requirement for local medical device manufacturers. However, manufacturers of licensed medical devices and detailed notification medical devices must provide GMP certificates from the FDA or an ISO 13485 certificate issued by one of the official Certified Bodies as part of the documents for the registration of medical devices. These certificates are not required to manufacture and notify low-risk medical devices unless they are exported and certain certificates are required by the destination countries.

Many of us have heard the term “Metaverse,” which is commonly used to refer to the combination of technologies that allows us to access a virtual reality world or bring virtual reality into the physical world, as first mentioned in Neal Stephenson’s scientific novel “Snow Crash” (1992). The term “Metaverse” has become one of the biggest buzzwords over the past year, and recently we have seen tech giants striking deals to take part in the metaverse.

Following the issuance of the notification from the Ministry of Public Health regarding determination of category V narcotics, B.E. 2565 (2022), the Thai Food and Drug Administration has recently provided guidelines.

The Thai Ministry of Public Health issued the ministerial regulation on the application for and the issuance of the license for the manufacturing, import, export, sale or possession of cannabis.

Healthtech gained tremendous attention during the past year or so as a result of the pandemic-driven lockdowns and restrictive circumstances. As we discussed in the past, government agencies around the world had invariably leveraged technology to support healthcare delivery and services over the years, and these efforts have accelerated in response to the pandemic. In the case of Thailand, based on its 10 year national health security plan, the Ministry of Public Health has progressed and implemented its policy by working with relevant government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Medical Council of Thailand, the Pharmacy Council and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to develop and issue guidelines for telehealth services.

Join our webinar on Thursday, 20 January 2022 for an engaging discussion on trade compliance, customs laws and risks of sanctions within the cannabis industry. Our panel of legal experts in international trade compliance will discuss such topics as: what the cannabis industry can do to be more trade compliant, how to navigate the multi-jurisdictional variances in customs laws, how to reduce the risks associated with the import and export of cannabis and how to identify and mitigate sanctions risks.

In a recent interview Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, the Minister of Public Health, lauded the many community enterprises all over Thailand which have been growing cannabis for hospitals to extract for medical purposes and the hundreds of medical cannabis clinics all over the country which have proven to be very popular with the Thai people. The Minister was pleased with how Thai people have embraced cannabis and has again stressed his mission to make cannabis both a cash crop, as well as a medicine, for the nation. He also mentioned intended efforts to continue with liberalizing the laws and regulations on cannabis even further to increase access to cannabis.