On 2 February, the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration (GDMPA) and the Health Commission of Guangdong Province jointly published two updated catalogues, namely the Catalogue of Guangdong Province on Drugs from Hong Kong and Macao in Urgent Clinical Use in Nine Mainland Municipalities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2025 Edition) and the Catalogue of Guangdong Province on Medical Devices from Hong Kong and Macao in Urgent Clinical Use in Nine Mainland Municipalities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2025 Edition). The catalogues cover a total of 115 items: 45 drugs and 70 medical devices.

Nine departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, released an opinion document on 22 January on the subject of how to boost the high-quality development of the pharmaceutical retail sector.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a notice of its intent to publish a temporary order to adopt import and export restrictions on a psychoactive substance.

The Catalogue of High-end Medical Devices for Priority Examination and Approval (2025 Edition), released on 26 December by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), took effect on the same day.

Singapore and the United Kingdom have launched a Regulatory Innovation Corridor, aimed at accelerating the development and regulatory review of medical technologies across both markets. The corridor was announced on 12 December 2025, bringing together the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA), with biotech venture firm Flagship Pioneering the first industry partner.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a final order that effective 11 February establishes import and export restrictions on two additional opioid substances.

With consumer-facing med-tech one of the leading categories at CES, user-friendly operation was seen as one of the primary selling points.

On 9 December 2025, the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration issued a work plan for the promotion of data traceability for all categories of drugs across all stages of distribution and usage. The aim is for all drug wholesalers, drug retailers and drug usage entities to enact inbound and outbound scanning and data uploading for all coded drugs, and for disease prevention and control institutions and vaccination units to do likewise for vaccines.

In line with the Work Plan for Regulatory Innovation and Development of Drugs and Medical Devices in the GBA, the “Hong Kong and Macao Medicine and Equipment Connect” scheme and relevant laws and regulations, Guangdong’s Provincial Health Commission and Medical Products Administration recently announced a fourth batch of designated medical institutions under the scheme. A total of 27 medical institutions were added the list, with one being removed. As of 10 December 2025, a total of 71 designated hospitals had joined the scheme.

On 3 December, the General Administration of Customs (GAC), the National Health Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued a notice to immediately initiate a pilot programme for category management of imported substances that are traditionally used as both food and Chinese herbal medicine.