HSA to review regulatory framework for complementary health products

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is reviewing its regulatory framework for complementary health products, which include health supplements and traditional medicines, and anticipates finalising the regulations by mid-2028, said HSA chief executive Raymond Chua.

It will be engaging extensively with the research community, healthcare professionals and industry stakeholders to gather their insights on the framework, he said.

The move will better support the development of longevity health products, while ensuring robust consumer protection and clear regulatory pathways for emerging health products, he said in his keynote speech at the Geromedicine: Unlocking Healthy Longevity Conference on Feb 26.

Geromedicine is an emerging evidence-based field that applies the biology of ageing to clinical practice. It shifts the paradigm from treating age-related diseases to targeting ageing itself.

Organised by the NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the two-day conference aims to discuss current trends and emerging evidence in supplements and repurposed drugs that aim to optimise health and extend healthspan.

Currently, consumers can buy health supplements or traditional medicines off the shelf. Companies are responsible for ensuring that their products are not harmful.

What HSA does is to closely monitor adverse event reports and sales of illegal health products. If something goes wrong, it will warn consumers and issue product recalls.

Consumers can check HSA’s

List of Notified Health Supplements and Traditional Medicines

to see if the products they want to take are vetted for safety.

This is because companies that want to be included on the list must provide HSA with documents to demonstrate that their products meet the agency’s safety and quality standards. However, listing is voluntary.

With the 2028 regulations, consumers will have better assurance of the safety of the products they want to take, Adjunct Professor Chua said.

He told ST that health or longevity supplements cannot claim to be for preventive treatment. They cannot contain Western medicinal products because they would then be considered adulterated.

“If you look at all the longevity products, they are all for supplementary use. (For instance, you cannot) claim to cure cancer, hypertension. It’s more about wellness and well-being,” he said.

At the geroscience conference, Prof Chua noted a growing market for longevity-related health products – ranging from health supplements to digital products and even diagnostics and repurposed drugs, but with varying levels of clinical evidence on their efficacy.

He said HSA rigorously evaluates products making disease prevention or treatment claims, such as Metformin for delaying diabetes onset and treatment. Metformin is one of the drugs that are being studied for potential anti-ageing effects.

The authority takes a lighter-touch approach with products that come with general health support claims, as it treats them as health supplements, he said.

However, the longevity space presents unique challenges. “We do not yet have universally agreed ageing biomarkers that reliably predict long-term functional outcomes. For example, if a biomarker improves, does frailty actually decline?” Prof Chua said. 

He stressed the need for researchers, clinicians, industry players and regulators to work collaboratively in translating the promise of geromedicine into real benefits for patients.