Regulatory cooperation for vaccines: the Asia-Pacific and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic galvanized national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to adopt innovative and cooperative vaccine approval approaches. Against a backdrop of deaths, economic paralysis, and political instability, it became clear that legacy approaches to vaccine approvals would no longer suffice. Regulatory cooperation between NRAs has developed since the 1960s in Europe and later in other regions. But the crisis wrought by COVID-19 has instilled a new sense of the value of networking, work-sharing, reliance, and recognition among NRAs in all countries and regions. Regional and multilateral collaboration — particularly in the Asia-Pacific — have also enabled shared knowledge and resources while contributing to some degree of harmonization in rules and procedures. Indeed, this will likely pave the way for dealing with future global health crises. Yet, amidst the detritus, there is much to learn.