Routes of the same type are on the same row. Compare other markets.
9 pathway types exist in both markets: full application, new active substance, full or mixed application, known active substance, generic application, biosimilar application, non-prescription application, priority or accelerated review and more. The table lines up the routes of each type.
Japan: Approval of a drug with a new active ingredient, 365 days. Singapore: New drug application for a registered active ingredient (NDA-2), 180 days. These are official targets, not actual review times.
| Pathway type | Japan | Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Full application, new active substance | Approval of a drug with a new active ingredientArticle 14 approval · target 365 days · fee ¥36,538,400 Approval of a regenerative medical product (cell or gene therapy)Article 23-25 · target 365 days · fee ¥18,803,400 | New drug application, full evaluationNDA-1, NDA-2, NDA-3 (full route) · target 270 days · fee SGD 83,100 Class 2 cell, tissue or gene therapy product, full evaluationNDA-1, NDA-2, NDA-3 (CTGTP full route) · target 270 days · fee SGD 82,900 |
| Full or mixed application, known active substance |
Not legal or regulatory advice. Check the current official rules before you act. Parts of the approvals data are official open data reused under open licences. Data sources.
New drug application for a registered active ingredient (NDA-2)NDA-2 / NDA-3 · target 180 days |
| Generic application | Approval of a generic prescription drugArticle 14 approval · target 304 days · fee ¥649,100 | Generic drug application, abridged evaluationGDA-1, GDA-2 (abridged route) · target 240 days · fee SGD 4,280 Generic drug application, verification evaluationGDA-1, GDA-2 (verification route) · target 120 days · fee SGD 10,600 · relies on US, EU, CA, GB, CH, AU Generic drug application, verification-CECA evaluationGDA verification-CECA · target 90 days · fee SGD 10,600 · relies on US, EU, CA, GB, CH, AU Standard essential medicine applicationGDA (standard essential medicine) |
| Biosimilar application | Approval of a biosimilarApplication category (7) | Biosimilar applicationNDA-2 / NDA-3 (biosimilar) · target 180 days · fee SGD 17,100 · relies on EU, US, CA, GB, CH, AU |
| Non-prescription application | Approval of a non-prescription drug (including switch OTC)OTC application categories (1) to (8) · target 365 days · fee ¥1,627,300 | Non-prescription medicine application (abridged)NDA (abridged), Appendix 6 · target 180 days · fee SGD 11,600 · relies on AU, CA, US, GB Reclassification of a registered medicine (switch)MAV-2 · target 180 days |
| Conditional or accelerated approval | Conditional approvalArticle 14-2-2 and 23-2-6-2 Conditional and time-limited approval of a regenerative medical productArticle 23-26 · fee ¥9,411,700 | - |
| Priority or accelerated review | Priority reviewArticle 14(11), 23-2-5(11) and 23-25 · target 274 days | Priority Review Scheme for devicesfee SGD 17,500 |
| Intensive development support designation | Pioneering product designation (SAKIGAKE)Article 77-2(2) · target 183 days | - |
| Orphan or rare disease designation | Orphan designationArticle 77-2(1) · fee ¥30,618,800 | - |
| Emergency or temporary authorisation | Special approval for emergencies (based on foreign approval)Article 14-3 · relies on US, GB, CA, DE, FR Emergency approval (time-limited)Article 14-2-2-2 and 23-26-2 | - |
| Early or compassionate access | - | Special access for an unregistered medicine (named patient)Special Access Route (Named-Patient) · target 14 days |
| Reliance route, abridged review | Fast priority review of a product already sold abroad during a supply shortageArticle 14(9) and 23-2-5(9) · relies on US, GB, CA, DE, FR | New drug application, abridged evaluationNDA-1, NDA-2, NDA-3 (abridged route) · target 180 days · fee SGD 11,600 New drug application, verification evaluationNDA-1, NDA-2, NDA-3 (verification route) · target 60 days · fee SGD 17,100 · relies on US, EU, CA, GB, CH, AU Class 2 cell, tissue or gene therapy product, abridged evaluationNDA-1, NDA-2, NDA-3 (CTGTP abridged route) · target 180 days · fee SGD 13,900 · relies on AU, CA, US, EU, GB Class B device registration, abridged evaluationAbridged evaluation route · target 100 days · fee SGD 2,010 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US, MY Class C device registration, abridged evaluationAbridged evaluation route · target 160 days · fee SGD 3,900 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US, MY Class C device registration, expedited evaluationExpedited Class C Registration (ECR-1, ECR-2) · target 120 days · fee SGD 3,340 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US Class D device registration, abridged evaluationAbridged evaluation route · target 220 days · fee SGD 6,250 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US, MY Class D device registration, expedited evaluationExpedited Class D Registration (EDR) · target 180 days · fee SGD 5,930 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US |
| Reliance route, recognition or verification | - | Class B device immediate registrationImmediate Class B Registration (IBR) · target 0 days · fee SGD 1,000 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US Class C immediate registration for standalone mobile appsImmediate Class C Registration (ICR) · target 0 days · fee SGD 3,340 · relies on AU, CA, EU, JP, US |
| Work-sharing or joint review | - | Project Orbis (cancer medicines)relies on US Access Consortium work sharingrelies on AU, CA, CH, GB Singapore-Malaysia generic work-sharing pilotrelies on MY |
| Device: premarket notification | Notification of a Class I device or a low-risk IVDArticle 23-2-12 |
| Device: premarket approval by the regulator | Approval of a new medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 426 days · fee ¥16,431,300 Approval of an improved medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 304 days · fee ¥9,381,400 Approval of a generic (equivalent) medical deviceArticle 23-2-5 · target 122 days · fee ¥2,244,900 Approval of an in vitro diagnosticArticle 23-2-5 · target 213 days | - |
| Device: conformity assessment by a certification body | Third-party certification by a registered certification bodyArticle 23-2-23 | - |
| Device: registration or licence with the regulator | - | Class B device registration, full evaluationFull evaluation route · target 160 days · fee SGD 3,900 Class C device registration, full evaluationFull evaluation route · target 220 days · fee SGD 6,250 Class D device registration, full evaluationFull evaluation route · target 310 days · fee SGD 12,000 Device with a registrable medicine (Class D)fee SGD 75,600 |
| Other route | Approval held by a foreign manufacturer through a designated marketing authorization holderArticles 19-2, 23-2-17 and 23-37 Specific-use product designationArticle 77-2(3) | Class 1 cell or tissue product notificationtarget 14 days · fee SGD 95 |