Globalisation of health products including rapid emergence of new technologies, increased international flow of health products and limited resources affects the capacity of a single regulatory agency to address health risks and promote timely access to safe therapeutic products. Recognising these challenges and the importance of international collaboration among like-minded health regulatory agencies, the Head of Agencies Consortium was established in 2007 as a means to promote regulatory convergence and foster synergy to address scientific and regulatory issues.
The Consortium consists of health regulatory agencies from:
The Consortium voluntarily meets on a regular basis to exchange information on issues and challenges. While informal, its collaboration aims to better align the regulatory systems and reduce unnecessary duplication and differences.
The Consortium's work focuses on concrete regulatory work sharing initiatives including but not limited to: