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Actions to make it easier for small firms in APEC economies to participate in the cross-border production and trade of healthcare products, and reduce their costs and safety risks for consumers, were taken forward by officials during their meetings in Atlanta.
According to Dr Ryan MacFarlane, Chair of the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum Planning Group, “The enormous toll of non-communicable diseases on worker productivity is undercutting GDP by billions on a per APEC economy basis and well over a trillion region-wide. The health of people and economies on both sides of the Pacific will be exposed to even greater risk unless we take action now. Improving access to medicines and medical technologies through more robust, secure and economical cross-border trade flows, supported by wider small business participation in industry supply chains, is imperative.”
The region’s rapidly aging populations and increasing expenditure on healthcare and public pension systems add to the need for urgent policy remedies.
Officials are coordinating with industry representatives to identify and lower trade barriers that raise costs for consumers and make it costly or prohibitive for businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, to integrate into the different stages of international production and trade of goods—known as global value chains. Harmonizing APEC members’ regulatory regimes is a priority, including work to establish well-defined and consistent medical product approval procedures among them within five years.
Work is further underway to promote adoption of the APEC Principles for Business Ethics in the Medical Device and Bio-Pharmaceutical Sectors among small and medium enterprises. The aim is to reduce incidents of corruption that raise business costs in the industry, driving up prices for consumers, as well as to ensure that healthcare decisions are made in a patient’s best interest.
Small and Medium Enterprise Ministers from APEC member economies will meet on 25 September in Iloilo, the Philippines to review the progress of these initiatives and take further policy actions to promote new trade opportunities for small businesses in the region.