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Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Potential Outbreaks of Other Communicable Diseases

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Project Title

Regional Support to Address the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Potential Outbreaks of Other Communicable Diseases: Vaccine Regulation Firm 

 

Project Period

February 2023 – Ongoing  
  

Project Description

Health products regulation enables access to safe, efficacious and quality health products through a range of scientific and regulatory activities deployed across the entire product life cycle, including manufacturing and surveillance. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in vaccine regulation at the national level, in particular low-resourced developing member countries (DMCs).

To address this, the Centre of Regulatory Excellence is collaborating with the Health Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen the regulatory resilience for public health emergencies. This is a part of ADB’s Support to Enhance COVID-19 Vaccine Access by Developing Member Countries (APVAX) programme.

The current project aims to inform the Health Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank on the regulatory landscape in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on regulatory systems strengthening as well as regulatory factors for vaccine manufacturing in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore. 

These priority areas will lay the foundations to build functional national regulatory systems and strengthen regulatory resilience for public health emergencies in DMCs, which are pivotal in encouraging equitable access to innovative health products, attracting investments in manufacturing and enhancing public health surveillance systems in this region. 

For more information about the project, you can contact core@duke-nus.edu.sg 

  
Related Links

  1. ADB-CoRE Vaccine Seminar: Fit-for Purpose Vaccine Technologies: The Amalgamation of Science, Policy and Practices
  2. Policy Briefs on sustainable vaccine manufacturing and regulatory systems strengthening
  3. Resources on pandemic preparedness
  4. Past ADB-CoRE Project

2023 ADB-CoRE Vaccine Seminar

 5 to 7 October 2023

Collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to host the seminar, Fit-for Purpose Vaccine Technologies:
The Amalgamation of Science, Policy, and Practice


The COVID-19 pandemic has galvanised organisations worldwide to come together to produce new vaccines that are safe and effective. Yet more needs to be done to tackle inequitable access to vaccines due to differences in access to vaccine technologies, capacities of vaccine manufacturing facilities, and maturity levels of regulatory systems. To fortify scientific, technical and regulatory issues in this interpandemic phase, the centre collaborated with ADB, to host a by-invitation seminar, Fit-for Purpose Vaccine Technologies: The Amalgamation of Science, Policy, and Practice.

The seminar comprised four themes: (a) Science of Vaccine Technologies, (b) Manufacturing and Other Considerations of Vaccine Technologies in Low-Resourced Settings, (c) Regulation of the Vaccine Life Cycle, and (d) Sustainability in Resource Constraint Settings. Throughout the two days, the diverse stakeholders discussed common ground and solutions for issues surrounding equitable vaccine access and regulatory system strengthening.

This by-invitation seminar was attended by more than a hundred senior leaders from multiple sectors, active in in vaccine development, financing, manufacturing and regulations. Public sector representatives from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Australia, Singapore and Korea, were also present.

This seminar exemplifies the approach and commitment of the Centre in advancing regulatory excellence. Through multi-sectoral partnership, a fit-for purpose collaborative vaccine strategy with consideration of scientific, technical and regulatory issues will ultimately advances sustainable vaccine manufacturing and regulatory agility in the Asia Pacific and strengthens the region’s resilience to manage future pandemics and other public health emergencies.

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The seminar was graced by Mr Zahid Maleque, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh, and Her Excellency Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India.


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The by-invitation seminar was attended by more than a hundred senior leaders from multiple sectors, active in vaccine development, financing, manufacturing and regulations.