Milestones

August
Established by MOH, ACE was set up to drive appropriate care through evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies. From its inception, ACE championed evidence-based decision-making in healthcare to help ensure patients have access clinically proven, cost-effective treatments that improve health outcomes in a sustainable manner.

April
The Pharmacoeconomic Evaluation and Drug Utilisation (PEDU) unit in Health Sciences Authority (HSA) supporting the MOH Drug Advisory Committee (DAC) was transferred to ACE.

May
ACE Council was formed to help guide ACE’s development and drive appropriate care and value-based healthcare.

February
Drug Evaluation Methods and Process Guide published—a key milestone that formalised ACE’s rigorous approach to Health Technology Assessment (HTA), bringing Singapore’s standards in line with international best practices and increasing transparency in evaluation and subsidy decision-making.

May
Published first tranche of drug guidances, increasing the transparency around MOH Drug Advisory Committee’s (DAC’s) subsidy decisions, in alignment with international best practices, and improving public understanding of how cost-effectiveness informs access.

July
Published first tranche of clinical guidances, “Appropriate Care Guides” (ACGs), to support specific areas of clinical practice.

March
First tranche of Medical Technology guidances was published, increasing the transparency of MOH Medical Technology Advisory Committee’s (MTAC’s) subsidy decision-making for medical technologies.

May
To support the adoption of evidence-based medicine, the Appropriate Care Office (now known as the Evidence to Practice Office, ETPO) was established to empower healthcare professionals in the delivery of appropriate care by developing and facilitating adoption of national-level clinical guidances.

July
Launched Horizon scanning capabilities, initially focusing on identifying emerging Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Products (CTGTP).

Introduced a formal framework for company submissions and cost-recovery, enabling transparent and sustainable pathways for industry engagement—developed in consultation with stakeholders and aligned with international best practices.

October
Introduced enhanced clinical guidance with the rebranded “ACE Clinical Guidances” (ACGs), adopting robust guideline development processes and methodologies aligned with international best practices.

Rolled out ACE Clinical Update Service (ACE CUES), Singapore’s national educational visiting service for healthcare professionals.

April
Established Consumer Engagement and Education (CEE) unit to involve patients and the public in ACE’s work.

September
Published the first Horizon Scanning Methods and Process Guide.

Piloted Value-Based Pricing (VBP) for selected health technologies, laying the groundwork for sustainable cost management and provision of cost-effective care. VBP became a core workstream in 2017.

May
Launched the ACE website to improve access to HTAs, clinical guidances, and educational resources for healthcare professionals and the public.

April
Negotiated prices with vaccine manufacturers to improve affordability and access to nationally recommended vaccines at General Practitioner (GP) clinics under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), marking a first for private GPs.

August
MOH introduced the Cancer Drug List (CDL) to help ensure the cost of cancer treatments and insurance premiums remain affordable over time. ACE supported its development by evaluating therapies for their evidence and value, informing listing decisions, and negotiating better prices.

• Covers clinically proven and cost-effective cancer drug-indication pairs

• Introduced more granular claim limits for outpatient cancer drugs

• Achieved 30% price reduction for ~100 cancer drugs and >60% for some specific cancer drugs

• About 90% of HSA approved cancer drug-indication pairs are listed on CDL

March
Introduction of the Implant Subsidy List (ISL) — Singapore’s first positive list for implants with demonstrated therapeutic and economic value. The ISL extends subsidies to encourage more consistent use of implants that improve patient outcomes and healthcare resource utilisation. Covers clinically and cost-effective implants with enhanced subsidies

• Achieved 30% price reduction for commonly used implants

• For implants categories that transited to ISL, >90% of implants used in public hospitals included in ISL at the time of list finalisation.

August
Kymriah became the first Cell, Tissue, and Gene Therapy Product (CTGTP) to receive public subsidy under MOH’s pilot financing framework. Means-tested subsidies of up to 75% (capped at $150,000) are now available for eligible patients at public institutions. The CTGTP List reflects the importance of HTA in guiding sustainable funding decisions for high-cost innovations and sets a precedent for future coverage.

Risdiplam, a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), was added to the Medication Assistance Fund, allowing eligible patients to receive subsidies of up to 75%. This marked a major step in improving access to life-saving therapies for rare, severely debilitating conditions through evidence-informed policy.

February
Supported the review to extend subsidies and MediSave use for the shingles vaccine—a high-impact but costly preventive treatment—for eligible Singaporeans and Permanent Residents at public healthcare institutions and CHAS-GPs. ACE evaluated its clinical and cost-effectiveness and negotiated value-based prices to improve affordability and access for eligible Singaporeans.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 20-valent (PCV20) was added to the National Adult Immunisation Schedule in 2025, with subsidies for at-risk adults implemented from September.

March
ACE established the International Advisory Panel (IAP) to bring in experts advising the agency on global best practices in HTA and clinical guidelines, reinforcing Singapore’s shift towards evidence-based, value-driven care.

August
ACE was appointed Secretariat of the MOH Rare Disease Expert Group (RDEG) expanding its remit to Rare Disease Fund (RDF) evaluation.

June
Signed an MOU with the Australian Government Department of Health (AuDOH) to exchange expertise in healthcare and HTA to improve health outcomes for patients.

^{Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the 6th Singapore-Australia Leader's meeting in Singapore, 10 June 2021.}

^{Photo credit: Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI)}

Hosted Singapore’s first national Biannual Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) Conferences, convening healthcare leaders, policymakers, and experts in value-based care and HTA to share insights and practical strategies. The inaugural conference took place in 2022, with the second edition held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in 2024.