Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Thailand chapter to the 2024 edition of Pharmaceutical Advertising from the International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG) series published by Global Legal Group. This detailed guide offers an in-depth examination of pharmaceutical advertising laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions around the globe. Each chapter of the guide, structured in a Q&A format, is organized into comprehensive sections covering various aspects of pharmaceutical advertising, including: General rules and codes of practice governing pharmaceutical advertising Required arrangements for ensuring compliance with advertising regulations Procedures for obtaining advertising approvals from regulatory authorities Penalties for non-compliance with advertising rules Guidelines for providing information prior to product authorization Requirements for advertisements directed at healthcare professionals Restrictions on the content of pharmaceutical advertisements The complete Thailand chapter is available as a PDF below. The Thailand chapter—and the full Pharmaceutical Advertising guide—are also freely available on the ICLG website.

On July 18. 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 12/2024/TT-BYT promulgating National Technical Regulation QCVN 20-1:2024/BYT on the limits of contaminants for health supplements (“Circular 12”). The new national technical regulation is the very first relating to health supplements, and is expected to have a great impact on the control of health supplement quality in Vietnam. Circular 12 will take effect on August 1, 2025. Contents of Circular 12 The new circular prescribes limits of contaminants (heavy metals and microorganisms), testing samples and testing methods, management requirements, and responsibilities of entities manufacturing and trading in health supplements. Supplemented alcohol products which are declared as health supplements are notably excluded from the scope of the regulation. Transitional Provisions Health supplements which (i) have been granted a declaration registration certificate, and (ii) are manufactured before August 1, 2025, are allowed to continue to be imported, traded, and circulated until the expiry date of the product, even if it is not aligned with Circular 12, except when there is food safety warning. Declaration registration dossiers for health supplements submitted before August 1, 2025, will continue to be handled in accordance with the prevailing regulations at the time of submission. From August 1, 2025, if a health supplement with a granted declaration registration certificate has a manufacturer’s standard that does not comply with Circular 12, the party manufacturing/trading in the product must adjust the product standard to conform to Circular 12 and notify the authority of this adjustment.

Thailand’s Minister of Public Health recently promulgated the Ministerial Notification Re: Category 5 Narcotics Which Are Not Cannabis or Hemp Extract and Whose Consumption is Permitted for Treatment of Disease or for Research Purposes (2024). The notification took effect on April 23, 2024. The substances whose regulatory controls are affected by this new notification are psilocybin mushroom (Psilocybe cubensis (Earle) Singer), opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. and Papaver bracteatum Lindl.), and other plants in these genera from which opium, opium alkaloids, psilocybin, or psilocin may be derived. As a result of this notification, these substances are now classified as category 5 narcotics that can be applied in medical treatment. Without the implementation of this notification, patients could not access newly developed medicines containing these substances, as Thailand’s Narcotic Code prohibits the possession and use of category 5 narcotics. Nonetheless, this does not mean that psilocybin mushrooms and opium can be used without any conditions. There is still a long process to go through before these substances can be used in medical treatment or clinical studies. Under the new notification, the FDA must first approve any medicinal drug formulation containing any of the above substances, and subsequently, the production must be approved for medical use or research purposes. The importation of medicinal drug formulations containing psilocybin mushrooms or opium is not allowed. This seemingly small regulatory change addresses the previous legal obstacle to the research and development of such medicines. According to the previous regulation, a physician or researcher could apply to the Thai FDA for a license to produce or possess medicines containing the aforementioned narcotics. However, production and consumption are considered different activities, and consuming a narcotic-containing medicine, even if it was produced under a valid license, is prohibited by the Narcotics Code and is punishable by imprisonment,

Advances in biotechnology have enabled the development of a range of new agricultural tools. From DNA sequencing to plant tissue culture and gene editing, these advances are facilitating the development of better crops. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one well-known example of agricultural biotechnology. GMOs are organisms whose genetic material has been artificially altered by inserting a piece of foreign DNA. This DNA may be synthetic in origin or sourced from other organisms. Genome editing (also called gene editing or GEd) involves making precise changes to an organism’s genome without the integration of foreign DNA elements. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed. A well-known one is called CRISPR-Cas9, in which scientists make precise “cuts” in the DNA to create a new genetic variation. Unlike with GMOs, this introduces only minor modifications that are indistinguishable from natural mutations, typically by transplanting genes that code desirable traits from one species into another. GEd technology has been recognized and supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Thirteen FAO-member countries who are also members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced their support of the use of GEd technology for commercial uses and consumption at a recent WTO meeting. In addition, over 40 countries around the world, such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, Japan, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia, the UK, and the US, have published policies emphasizing that foods free of transgenes (i.e., foods that do not contain genes transferred from external sources) are not GMOs, concluding that GEd plants are as safe as normal plants. In February 2024, the European Parliament approved new genomic techniques (NGTs), or GEd. As a result, plants that are produced using GEd technology are not classified by the EU as GMOs, and the EU