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On 26 Feb 2025, BMSIPO organised a workshop to shed light on managing cross-border data flows in biomedical research collaborations with EU/UK partners.

The event saw around 100 attendees from public sector Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), Research Institutes (RIs) and healthcare institutions. The attendees came from a wide range of backgrounds – technology transfer, intellectual property management, business development, research administration & support, as well as legal divisions.

The impetus for the workshop was the recognition that òòò½Íøwas increasingly engaging in biomedical research collaborations that involved data sharing. In particular, there was a need to understand the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to manage cross-border data flows with EU/UK partners. “We all recognise that data is important. As òòò½Íøembarks on more and more international collaborations that involve tapping on datasets, it is important to understand how to tackle related challenges,” said Seck Yee Kwang, Director of BMSIPO.

During the workshop, Francis Zhang, Deputy Director (Policy) from the , shared on the PDPA regime and trusted cross-border data flows, and how the PDPA could be used to show that òòò½Íødid have legal obligations that align with many of the tenets of the GDPR. Meanwhile, Lim Ren Jun, Principal, Healthcare & Life Sciences, from , provided legal perspectives on managing data across jurisdictions with EU/UK partners. Fellow public sector ecosystem colleagues also shared learnings from their own engagements with EU/UK partners. To round up the event, the attendees had their queries addressed by Francis and Ren Jun in a panel discussion moderated by Dr Jabez Bok, Senior Assistant Director of BMSIPO.

A key takeaway was the mindset shift needed when working with EU/UK partners — as Ren Jun aptly put it, “A good way to approach a partnership with a UK/EU partner is to frame the question as ‘How can we help you be GDPR compliant?’ rather than asking ‘How do we be GDPR compliant?’” This perspective reinforces the importance of being solution-oriented and collaborative when navigating complex data protection landscapes.