Medical device regulatory officials and specialists from Asia and beyond have converged on Hong Kong for the 14th Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) Meeting which opened at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 6, 2009.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the Director of Health, Dr PY Lam; the Deputy Commissioner of State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), Mr Zhang Jingli; the Director-General of Department of Medical Devices under the SFDA, Mr Wang Baoting; the Assistant Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Raymond Yip; and the Acting Director (Technology Development) of Hong Kong Productivity Council, Mr Joseph Poon.
There are 20 current AHWP member economies including Abu Dhabi, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Some 300 government officials and representatives from medical device and related industries from AHWP member economies and founding members of Global Harmonization Task Force (GHIF), namely US, EU, Australia, Japan and Canada attended the meeting.
The meeting aims to promote harmonization of medical device regulation by providing a forum for information exchange and initiating projects among participating regulators and industry groups.
The AHWP was established as a non-profit organisation and its main objectives are to forge a common direction for harmonization of medical device regulation in Asia and to foster increased understanding on the benefits of harmonization.