New Zealand EPA, Formally Restricts LC-PFCAs

On September 23, 2026, New Zealand's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) announced that the Government has approved amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (the "HSNO Act") to implement restrictions on three new persistent organic pollutants (POPs)—chlorpyrifos, medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs), and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids, their salts and re..

Philippines PFDA, Proposes Remote and Hybrid Inspections

On September 2026, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft FDA Circular setting out when it will use on-site, remote, or hybrid inspections for regulated health product establishments. The draft is open for public comment until October 26, 2026. The circular does not change product registration requirements. It does affect the local importers and distributors that hold..

On September 24, 2026, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued a notice seeking public comments on updated chemical identification information for 913 existing cosmetic ingredients. Stakeholders may submit comments through the relevant online platform by November 25, 2026. The update mainly covers CAS numbers, structural formulas, molecular formulas, and molecular weights for ..

On September 2026, Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) introduced a Premarket Submission Checklist for medical device registrations filed through SHARE, its online submission portal. The checklist brings together existing requirements from HSA’s GN-15, GN-17 and GN-18 guidance documents in one place. After a grace period ending December 31, 2026, HSA will reject submissions that do not m..

On September 10, 2026, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Vietnam has issued guidelines regarding the implementation of and instructions for the ASEAN Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP-ASEAN) principles and standards. The details as are follow:- The Drug Administration of Vietnam(DAV) to organize the implementation, conduct inspections, and issue CGMP compliance certificates.- The CGMP cer..

On September 14, 2026, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea aims to prescribe detailed matters delegated to subordinate statutes, following the establishment of legal grounds concerning advance reviews of medical device eligibility, designation and demand survey/supply plan establishment for urgently needed medical devices, and the prohibition of medical device re..

On September, 2026, the Cosmetics and Hazardous Substances Control Division of the Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) issued the Guidelines for Notification and Claims of Cosmetic Products with Specific Efficacy: Ingredient Claims (Issue No. 1/2026), which sets out specific requirements for the notification ingredients and efficacy claims of whitening and anti-acne cosmetics The detail..

On September 10, 2026, to assist the public in understanding relevant regulations and administrative rules, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of Korea has prepared a Q&A guide on manufacturing and quality management standards for digital medical devices; this document outlines the agency's official external position regarding specific regulatory procedures. The aim is to resolve uncert..

On August, 2026, AICIS announced three updates to the Australian Inventory of Industrial Chemicals (AIIC), involving two new chemical listings and one variation to an existing listing. On August 3, AICIS announced the addition of Gnidia daphnifolia, ext. (CAS No. 2207590-23-4) under Section 83 of the Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 following the issuance of an assessment certificate. The chemical ..

On August 3, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an updated final version of its widely used guidance, Applying Human Factors and Usability Engineering to Medical Devices, marking the first revision since the guidance was issued in 2016. While the update does not fundamentally change the FDA's expectations for applying human factors engineering (HFE) during device developm..