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SINGAPORE: The Society of Aesthetic Medicine has formed a new body in attempts to boost the industry's credibility. This follows the dent to its reputation by recent reports of unethical practitioners and botched procedures.
The body, set up for doctors who want to conduct clinical trials, is expected to provide an additional gate-keeper in the growing industry, said to be worth some S$200 million.
Currently, doctors interested in conducting clinical trials on new procedures can opt to apply to a review board, to determine if it should be done at all. But practitioners who don't belong to any healthcare institution face difficulties in accessing one.
And so, the society set up the Create Independent Review Board (CREATEIRB), comprising 12 members. Of the 12 members, at least five have to be on the panel to discuss the clinical trial in question. Of those five members, two have to be non-doctors, with at least tertiary education.
Dr Tan Kok Leong, board member, CREATEIRB said: "If the principal investigator realises he wants to do a clinical trial based on the indication, then he can submit his proposal to the board, which then will decide whether this clinical trial is ethical, or whether it actually infringes into human rights, or whether we are really compromising on those who are less-privileged."
Ultimately, the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority has the final say on whether a clinical trial goes ahead.
The new board will be a cheaper alternative at S$5,000, which is about a third that of private panels. And aesthetic practitioners said the move is in the right direction.
Dr Yeak Hwee Lee from Singapore Aesthetic Centre said: "I certainly think it is good to have a board of people to review any ideas the doctors may have and have an expert review of the idea so that we can actually decide on whether such clinical trials should be made."
However, Dr Yeak points out that S$5,000 is still a "formidable" sum of money, especially for a private practitioner like her.
On this note, Dr Tan said the principal investigator often gets sponsorship for the clinical trial. He explains that the S$5,000 is only enough to cover the basic administrative and transportation costs.
For a start, the board will only review applications from its members, but it hopes to expand to other practitioners in future.
While it is pretty clear that the independent review board has got good intentions, it is too early to tell how it will serve the industry. And the society admits it is a new setup, so it will have to iron out the kinks along the way.
Dr David Loh, spokesperson for the society, elaborated on the challenges ahead.
He said: "As new technology come onboard, there will be things that are less and less substantiated and from time to time we may have to call in experts from other areas to help us in the decisions on the board."
So far, the newly-established board has already helped facilitate two trials. It includes the world's first trial using platelet-rich plasma to treat wrinkles and acne scars.
The society also said it has been approached by practitioners planning to conduct five regenerative clinical trials.
"We have two other trials coming up. One will still be on Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) but for acne scar reduction, which is also quite a huge market in Asia. The other one is treatment of melasma by PRP," Dr Tan said.
Currently, there are more than 2,000 aesthetic practitioners in Singapore, of which about 40 are actively practicing. Of the 40, the majority are members of the society.
- CNA/sc
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