The Regulation of Genetic Testing and the Protection of Genetic and Medical Information in Singapore

The Background

On November 25, 2005, the Singapore Bioethics Advisory Committee released a Report entitled “Genetic Testing and Genetic Research” (The Singapore Bioethics Advisory Committee, 2005).² In the Report (the “Genetic Testing Report”), the BAC laid down ethical guidelines for an array of genetic testing procedures and for genetic research. A year and a half later, the BAC released a further Report entitled “Personal Information in Biomedical Research” (The Bioethics Advisory Committee, 2007) (“the Personal Information Report”) which inter alia took up and expanded on some of the themes first examined in the Genetic Testing Report. Both the Genetic Testing Report and the Personal Information Report was subsequently accepted in full by the Singapore Government, and (through the mechanism which will be explained below) effectively assumed the status of binding professional guidance for the medical profession as regards genetic testing and screening procedures, and on matters on the use of genetic testing and genetic information used in research.

Some contextual background may be useful at this point for a proper appreciation of the Genetic Testing Report and the Personal Information Report, and on their impact and implications³. Towards the end of 2000, the Singapore Cabinet decided to establish a national-level agency to establish guidelines, and to make recommendations for supporting legislation and regulatory structures for the development of biomedical research in Singapore.

To this end, the Singapore Bioethics Advisory Committee was appointed by the Cabinet. Applying an approach commonly employed by the government in Singapore, its constitution was and continues to be that of a committee of experts⁴ (the majority of which were drawn from the medical, legal and biomedical research sectors) without any separate official or legal identity of its own, reporting and making its recommendations to a committee of ministers charged with steering the Government’s plans for the development of the biomedical industry and research sector in Singapore⁵. One of the impetus for the establishment of the BAC was no doubt the launch by the Singapore Government of the Singapore Biomedical Sciences Initiative (BMS Initiative) in June 2000; the vision was for Singapore to be the “Biopolis of Asia,” with the BMS Initiative targeted at the development of the biomedical industry and research sector “as the fourth pillar of Singapore’s industry cluster, alongside electronics, chemicals and engineering.”⁶