ACE Council
The ACE Council was formed as an advisory body to steer the Agency’s development to drive appropriate healthcare in Singapore. Led by an eminent senior clinician, the Council comprises well-respected senior medical specialists and professionals across a range of disciplines.
The combined expertise and experience of Council members in medicine, research and academia, health economics, legal, social policy and government policy, present a holistic perspective to guide the Agency's development.
The Council's terms of reference:
To advise the Ministry on the development of initiatives to promote the use of evidence-based, safe and cost-effective medicines in public hospitals and institutions (PHIs).
To develop strategies to harmonise formulary drugs across PHIs where appropriate and to facilitate timely listing of subsidised drugs.
To advocate appropriate use of medicines by:
promoting the use of generic alternatives (including biosimilars) of medicines, where available;
working collaboratively with stakeholders to influence appropriate use of medicines in the PHIs (including compliance with ACE Guidance, where available);
facilitating the sharing of national drug utilisation data to provide PHIs with appropriate benchmark for reviewing each PHI’s practices.
ACE Council members
Professor Chee Yam Cheng (since May 2016)
(Chairman)
Senior Advisor, National Healthcare Group
Ms Tan Yee Peng (since May 2016)
Chartered Accountant
Dr Daphne Khoo (since May 2016)
(Ex Officio)
Executive Director, Agency for Care Effectiveness
Dr Wong Tien Hua (since May 2016)
Director, Mutual Healthcare Pte Ltd, Singapore
President, College of Family Physicians Singapore
Past President - Singapore Medical Association
Professor Toh Han Chong (since Aug 2019)
Deputy Medical Director (Strategic Partnerships) and Senior Consultant, National Cancer Centre Singapore
Adjunct Associate Professor Tan Tze Lee (since Aug 2019)
Senior Partner, The Edinburgh Clinic
Adjunct Associate Professor in Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor Lita Chew (since Aug 2019)
Head of Pharmacy Department, National Cancer Centre Singapore
Associate Professor Suresh Sahadevan (since Aug 2019)
Senior Consultant, Departments of General Medicine and Geriatric Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Ms Margaret Lee (since Aug 2019)
Deputy CEO, Alexandra Hospital
Ms K Thanaletchimi (since Aug 2019)
President, NTUC Central Committee
President, Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU)
Assistant Professor Jean Liu (since Aug 2019)
Adjunct Assistant Professor, NUS Centre for Sleep and Cognition
Former Assistant Professor, Division of Social Sciences (Psychology), Yale-NUS College
Ms Ho Moon Shin (since Aug 2022)
Group Director (Communications & Engagement Group), MOH
Press Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies
Ms Chang Sook Mei (Since Aug 2022)
Director, Group Office of Patient Experience, SingHealth
Director, Office of Patient Experience, Changi General Hospital
International Advisory Panel
The International Advisory Panel (IAP) plays a critical advisory role for ACE as we develop, review and implement our various workstreams such as conducting health technology assessments (HTA), publishing healthcare guidances and providing education to support providers, patients and payers make better-informed decisions about patient care. The key aim is to achieve cost-effective and appropriate healthcare in Singapore. The Panel will also offer global perspectives which will help us keep abreast with relevant developments and initiatives internationally. IAP members are appointed for a three-year term starting from 1 Mar 2023 to 28 Feb 2026.
The IAP’s terms of reference are to advise ACE on the following areas:
Critique, recommend improvements and advise on ACE’s methods and processes, workplan and initiatives to keep abreast with international best practices. This can include drug and medical technology evaluation methods and processes, company submission’s methods and process manual, and guidance development methods and processes;
Provide insights on emerging trends and developments in HTA, and/or guidance development and evidence implementation;
Share approaches to guide Singapore’s implementation efforts to build capabilities in HTA, guidance development and execution of evidence-based practice; conduct training for ACE staff; and assist to coordinate training for ACE staff in these areas when required, including recommending trainers to provide training for ACE;
Connect ACE to international networks in the areas of HTA, guidance development and/or evidence implementation; and
Provide mentorship to ACE staff for areas such as HTA, guidance development, evidence implementation, human resource development, strategic communications and use of information technology to develop internal competencies within ACE for further organisational growth, as well as support putting in place best practices for the long-term organisational needs of ACE.
Current IAP Members
Prof Terry Campbell (since Mar 2021)
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia
Chair, Medical Devices and Human Tissue Advisory Committee (MDHTAC)
Emeritus Consultant Physician, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney.
Sarah Fitt (since Mar 2021)
Chief Executive, Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Pharmac), New Zealand
Prof Mark Jit (since Aug 2019)
Professor and Chair of the Department of Global and Environmental Health, New York University, United States
Sudha Kutty (since Mar 2023)
Executive Vice-President of Evidence, Products, and Services, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), Canada
Prof Nicholas Latimer (since Mar 2021)
Professor of Health Economics, School of Health & Related Research, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Member, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Decision Support Unit
Member, NICE Technology Appraisal Committee B (2018-2022)
Member, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Health Science Policy Council (2020-2022)
Prof Tracy Merlin (since Mar 2019)
Professor of Health Technology Assessment and Interim Head, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Australia
Managing Director, Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA)
Chair, Board of the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA)
Chair, English Editorial Board, International HTA Glossary
Prof Zachary Munn (since Sep 2023)
Director, Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Australia
Director, JBI Adelaide GRADE Centre
Chair, Guidelines International Network (GIN)
Dr Sam Roberts (since Mar 2023)
Chief Executive, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
Prof Debra Rowett (since Apr 2020)
Discipline Leader Pharmacy: External Relations, UniSA Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia
Director, Drug and Therapeutics Information Service (DATIS), Southern Adelaide Local Health Network
President, Council of Pharmacy Schools: Australia and New Zealand
Member, National Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee of Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC)
Prof Tim Shaw (since Apr 2020)
Professor of Digital Health and Director of Research in Implementation Science and eHealth (RISe), Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
Research Leader, Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre
Prof Allan Wailoo (since Mar 2019)
Professor of Health Economics, School of Health & Related Research, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Director, National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) Decision Support Unit
Co-Director, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Economic Methods of Evaluation in Health and Social Care Interventions
Prof Andrew Wilson (since Mar 2019)
Co-Director, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
Prof Robyn Ward (since Mar 2017)
Executive Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
Chair, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC)
Member, Board of the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
Non-Executive Director, Telstra Health
Honorary Medical Officer (Oncology), Westmead Hospital, Sydney
Prof Jonathan Craig (from Mar 2017 to Feb 2021 and since May 2024)
Vice President & Executive Dean, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia
Chair, Commonwealth Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC)
Honorary Consultant, Paediatric Nephrology, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide
Former IAP members
Meindert Boysen
Member from Mar 2019 - Feb 2023
Former Deputy Chief Executive and Director, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
Prof Ron Goeree
Member from Mar 2017 - Feb 2019
Professor Emeritus, McMaster University, Canada
Prof Carole Longson
Member from Mar 2017 - Feb 2019
Former Director, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
Suzanne McGurn
Member from Mar 2021 - Feb 2023
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Agency for Drugs & Technologies in Health (CADTH), Canada
Dr Brian O’Rourke
Member from Mar 2019 - Feb 2021
Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Agency for Drugs & Technologies in Health (CADTH), Canada
Prof Paul Scuffham
Member from Mar 2017 - Feb 2019
Director, Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith University, Australia
Prof Mark Sculpher
Member from Mar 2017 - Feb 2019
Professor, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, United Kingdom
Prof Ken Stein
Member from Mar 2019 - Feb 2021
Professor of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
Prof Per Olav Vandvik
Member from Apr 2020 - Feb 2023
Chief Executive Officer, MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation, Norway
ACE Consumer Panel
The ACE Consumer Panel plays an important role in providing strategic advice to ACE and its MOH advisory committees on opportunities to strengthen engagement efforts which meet the needs of patients, carers, and the public and ensure their views are effectively used to inform ACE’s work. The Panel comprises individuals from local patient organisations who represent a broad range of health conditions and have extensive lived experiences engaging with the Singapore healthcare system. Current Panel members have been appointed for a 2-year term from 1 Apr 2024 to 31 Mar 2026.
The Panel’s terms of reference:
Foster effective collaboration between ACE and local patient organisations;
Provide patient and/or societal perspectives to inform ACE’s initiatives to improve health literacy and encourage the appropriate use of health technologies;
Provide guidance on best practices that ACE can use to collect information on patients’ views and experiences;
Champion ACE’s work and encourage meaningful patient involvement in HTAs;
Support ACE to promote greater public understanding of HTA processes and continuously improve how patients and carers are involved in ACE’s work;
Review the format, content, and proposed communication strategies of ACE’s educational resources so that they meet the needs of patients, carers, and the public; and
Provide guidance on opportunities to strengthen engagement with patients and the public across ACE’s different workstreams.
The members of the ACE Consumer Panel and their key appointments in their respective patient organisations are listed below.
ACE Consumer Panel
Adjunct Professor Lau Tang Ching
(Co-Chair)
Outgoing Chairperson, The National Arthritis Foundation
Dr Ritu Jain
(Co-Chair)
President, Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association (DEBRA), Singapore & DEBRA International
Dr Kalpana Bhaskaran
Advisor, Diabetes Singapore
Ms Magdalene Chia
Lead, Caring Hearts Support Group, National University Heart Centre, Singapore
Patient Partner, NUHS Family & Patient Partners, NUHS Patient Advocacy & Support Office
Ms Tracy Gan
Director, Contact Centre, Service Leadership & Patient Relations and Volunteer Corporate Office, National Healthcare Group Polyclinics
Mr Ellil Mathiyan Lakshmanan
Co-Founder & President, Ostomy Association of Singapore
Mentor, SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network
Ms Melissa Lim
President, Brain Tumour Society (Singapore)
Mr Mark Lin
Head of Department, Psychosocial Services, Singapore Cancer Society
Ms Josie Liow
Co-Chair, SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network
Dr Ong Kian Chung
Founder & President, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Association (Singapore)
Mr Kenneth Mah
Vice President, Rare Disorders Society (Singapore)
Ms Peng Hai Ying
Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Cancer Foundation
Dr Lydia Seong
Chief Executive Officer, Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation
Ms Ai Ling Sim-Devadas
Deputy Director, Office of Patient Engagement, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Mentor, SingHealth Patient Advocacy Network
Member, Global Patient and Family Advisory Board, The Beryl Institute
Ms Sherry Soon
Founder, Autoimmune Diseases Singapore
Dr Rayner Tan
Chairperson and Director, The Greenhouse Community Services Ltd
President, Project X Society
Co-Lead, SG Mental Health Matters
Ms Nidhi Swarup
Founding Chair, Alliance of Patients’ Organizations Singapore
Founder and President, Crohn’s and Colitis Society of Singapore
Dr Shamala Thilarajah
President, Singapore National Stroke Association