The public Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM) announced yesterday that it will launch two new incentive programmes aiming to promote the upgrading of Macau’s pharmaceutical industry, a three-million-pataca subsidy per beneficiary encouraging local pharmaceutical manufacturers, including those producing traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), to upgrade their production equipment and processes in order to meet the internationally recognised GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards, and a subsidy scheme encouraging local TCM factories to register their pharmaceutical formulas, with a subsidy of 100,000 patacas for each TCM formula.
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), according to DeepSeek, is a system of quality assurance and regulations that ensures products are consistently produced and controlled according to stringent quality standards. It is designed to minimise risks involved in production that cannot be eliminated through testing the final product alone. Key principles cover all aspects of production, from the starting materials and premises to the equipment and training of staff.
GMP is critically important for pharmaceutical products and medical devices to guarantee patient safety, product efficacy, and batch-to-batch consistency. Furthermore, it is also widely applied and often a regulatory requirement for food products and cosmetics, according to DeepSeek.
The two programmes were announced during a press conference at the centre in Zape.
CPTTM is a non-profit organisation jointly funded by the Macau government and various companies and businesspeople in the private sector.
The local GMP version for the pharmaceutical industry is drawn up by the Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau (ISAF).
Pharmaceutical manufacturers that have been awarded a GMP certificate by the bureau will be eligible to apply for the three-million-pataca subsidy, while those producing TCMs that have registered their formulas with the bureau will be entitled to apply for a subsidy, with 100,000 patacas for each TCM formula.
The two programmes’ application periods will run between December 1 this year and November 30 next year.
Details of the two programmes were presented by Helena Lei, the chief senior manager of CPTTM’s Standards, Management, Training & Assessment Department, during yesterday’s press conference.
According to the press conference, the two programmes are part of the local government’s various measures to support the development of Macau’s big health industry.
Delivering a speech during the press conference, CPTTM Director General Victoria Alexa Kuan Chan said that in alignment with the local government’s appropriate economic diversification campaign, CPTTM has, over recent years, launched various courses on international management standards relevant to the development of a big health industry, including training courses on GMP run in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau.
Kuan noted that CPTTM published a reference book on GMP for pharmaceutical manufacturing in June this year, providing pharmaceutical factories wishing to be awarded a GMP certificate with a comprehensive set of guidelines and tips on upgrading their production equipment and technology with the aim of meeting the local government’s GMP standards and requirements.
Kuan noted that GMP certification serves as the gold standard for pharmaceutical quality management and international market access, as well as the foundation for high-end manufacturing, enabling enterprises to integrate the latest technologies, management practices, and equipment so as to achieve superior production quality and standards.
According to the press conference, the three-million-pataca subsidy aims to encourage pharmaceutical manufacturers to obtain a GMP certificate by alleviating their financial pressure on investing in upgrading production and equipment in their factories, with the objective of helping local pharmaceutical manufacturers compete in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and even in the international market.
Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM) Director General Victoria Alexa Kuan Chan (centre) speaks during yesterday’s press conference, as CPTTM Standards, Management, Training & Assessment Department Chief Senior Manager Helena Lei (left), Iong Nin Fai (second from left), who heads the Economic and Technological Development Bureau’s (DSEDT) Technology Department, Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau (ISAF) Deputy Director Ng Kuok Leong (second from right), and Lam Fu Chong, who heads the ISAF Traditional Chinese Medicine Division, look on.– Photo: Tony Wong
