Launched in 2014, the Centre of Regulatory Excellence (CoRE) at Duke-NUS Medical School, is the first dedicated Asian centre targeted at the needs of national health regulators, the biomedical industry, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. CoRE provides a platform to develop programmes that build leadership capability among senior staff and executives, promote regulatory leadership and encourage policy innovation across the Asia-Pacific.
Being part of the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore provides CoRE the unparalleled access to the region and a world of networks. Given the recent boom in the biomedical and life sciences fields in Asia, CoRE aims to support public and private bodies in their development of strong regulatory capabilities, and encourage innovation through thought leadership and best practices. Ultimately, CoRE’s aim is to create an environment in which new healthcare products can be developed, commercialised and delivered to populations across Asia with greater efficacy and safety.
Yet, a noticeable vacuum has arisen, making the healthcare environment increasingly complex and posing difficulties. A shortage of regulatory expertise, lack of support systems to facilitate regional regulatory policy innovations and diverse regulatory requirements across different countries are just a few issues which present themselves.
Unpacking these unique challenges prevalent in Asia, Singapore saw the need to establish a neutral platform to foster regulatory development with the aim to create an environment where effective regulatory policies can take shape, leading to measurable improvements in health outcomes, reducing mortality and illness, and enhancing quality of life.