IADSA Hosts Malaysian Event

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia—More 200 industry representatives, regulators and academics met here early in June to discuss regional and global developments impacting the sale and trade of traditional medicines and health supplements (TMHS). The event was organized by the Malaysia Dietary Supplement Association (MADSA), in cooperation with the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Alliance of Health Supplement Associations (AAHSA) and the International Alliance of Dietary/Food Supplement Associations (IADSA).

Speakers addressed the process for harmonization of TMHS regulations across Southeast Asia, as well as a look at other regulatory systems against which the regulations could be benchmarked. Speakers included Wang Xian Ren, from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA); Dr Oran Kwon, from the Korea Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Daniel Quek, chair of AAHSA; Simon Pettman, executive director of IADSA; and Jagdev Singh, chairman of MADSA.

“The global health supplement market continues to grow at a fast pace and ASEAN is one of the fastest growing regions within this,” Quek said. “Many of the issues being addressed by the TMHS Product Working Group are the subject of equivalent debate by regulatory bodies across the world, and ensuring as far as possible an internationally-accepted scientific basis for regulation is considered a central element of these discussions.”