From governments to private investors, big pharma to biotechs, organizations inside and outside the region are reimagining healthcare and life sciences to improve access, outcomes and affordability. This requires capital investment, collaboration and change at levels rarely seen before. In our digital campaign, we explore this dynamic through two main themes and identify six key market opportunities.
The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) has issued the finalized Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in AI Recommendation and Decision Systems (“Guidelines”). These Guidelines provide guidance on the use of personal data during three stages of AI system implementation: development, deployment (business-to-consumers) and procurement (business-to-business). In particular, the Guidelines clarify and elaborate on the application of the Consent Obligation and Notification Obligation, and their exceptions, under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) to the use of personal data in AI systems.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore commenced an investigation under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 (CPFTA) against a water filtration system supplier (“Supplier”) for unfair practices between September 2021 and November 2023.
The Supplier was found to be making false claims about its sales kit, misleading promotion listings, and misleading claims on the health benefits of alkaline or filtered water, from its website and social media pages.
The Ministry of Communications and Information has announced that the inter-agency Taskforce on the Resilience and Security of Digital Infrastructure and Services is studying the introduction of a Digital Infrastructure Act (DIA). The DIA builds on the Cybersecurity Act and aims to enhance the resilience and security of the digital infrastructure in Singapore. The scope of the DIA goes beyond cybersecurity and touches on other risks that may affect resilience.
The Health Sciences Authority is conducting a public consultation from 1 to 31 March 2024 on the proposed amendments to the Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016 on patent declaration.
The proposed amendments are intended to provide clarity to stakeholders on the types of patents that must be considered when making an application for registration of a therapeutic product, and for which the patent declaration regulations apply; and to minimize potential indiscriminate use of the patent declaration mechanism.
On 6 March 2024, the Health Sciences Authority issued an update on products found and reported by overseas regulators to contain potent ingredients prohibited in such products and which may lead to side effects.
The Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) was introduced in Parliament on 8 May 2023 and passed on 5 July 2023. It has commenced in part on 1 February 2024. Under the OCHA, five types of government directions may be issued to deal with criminal online activities. These directions can be issued to communicators of criminal content, online service providers, and internet service providers. Provisions on the issuance of codes of practice and directives in partnership with online services will come into force at a later stage.
The Cyber Security Agency has published a consultation paper on the proposed Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill, which would amend the Cybersecurity Act 2018. The CAB seeks to strengthen the legal framework governing the maintenance of national cybersecurity in Singapore, against the pressing need for legislation to effectively address the fast-developing technological environment.
On 7 February 2024, Enterprise Singapore and the Info-communications Media Development Authority launched the Generative AI Sandbox for small and medium-sized enterprises. Through the sandbox, SMEs will be able to receive funding support to experience Generative AI enterprise solutions over a three-month period. This initiative builds on Singapore’s existing efforts to strengthen the development and ecosystem of AI locally.
On 30 January 2024, the Health Science Authority (HSA) announced it had seized over 1.12 million units of illegal health products and removed over 12,000 listings of illegal health products from local e-commerce and social media platforms in 2023 through targeted operations, intelligence sharing and joint enforcement efforts with local and overseas agencies.
Illegal health products include unregistered or counterfeit health products, as well as products with potent medicinal ingredients or banned substances illegally added to them.