The UK and Singapore launched negotiations for a Mutual Recognition Agreement on pharmaceutical goods manufacturing standards, according to a Wednesday UK government statement.

The agreement would allow regulators to rely on each other's laboratory inspection results, reducing duplicate testing and inspection requirements for pharmaceutical products. The move will lower administrative costs and ease medicines trade between the two countries.

UK-Singapore goods trade was worth 12 billion pounds in 2025, up 24% from 2024, while medicines trade was over 300 million pounds, the statement said.

The negotiations involve the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Singapore's Health Sciences Authority.