Asian Bioethics Network Conference 2025: Fostering global collaboration on healthcare's evolving ethical landscape
Published: 28 Oct 2025
The Asian Bioethics Network (ABN) Conference 2025 convened from 23 to 24 October in Singapore, bringing together a diverse group of experts to explore the complex ethical dimensions of contemporary healthcare. Co-organised by the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC), with support from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the conference served as a crucial platform for international collaboration and dialogue on pressing bioethical issues. The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Professor Kenneth Mak, Director-General of Health, MOH.
The conference underscored the evolving landscape of healthcare, marked by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), longevity science, and the integration of traditional medicines. Participants grappled with the imperative to ensure that technological progress is guided by strong ethical frameworks, promoting safety, inclusivity, and responsible implementation. As Adjunct Professor (Dr) Raymond Chua highlighted, regulations alone are insufficient; ethics must be integrated from the outset to serve as a “compass pointing us in the right direction.”
The event drew a wide array of 300 participants and speakers from numerous countries, including the United States of America, South Korea, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, China, Thailand, the Netherlands, Japan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Brunei and India, reflecting its broad international reach and the global relevance of its themes.
Opening Remarks and Launch of Two Publications by the BAC
The conference commenced with welcome addresses from Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC, Deputy Chair of the Bioethics Advisory Committee, and Dr Sumytra Menon, Director, CBmE, NUS Medicine, and an opening address by the Guest-of-Honour, Prof Mak. The conference also featured the launch of the BAC’s Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Arising from Human Nuclear Genome Editing (HNGE) publication and Biomedical Ethics in Singapore: Cases and Commentary Book.
Dr Sumytra Menon, Director, CBmE, NUS Medicine, opens the conference with a welcome address
Mr Gregory Vijayendran SC, Deputy Chair, Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC), opens the conference with a welcome address
Conference Programme Highlights
Day 1: Ethics in Digitalisation and Longevity
Day one commenced with a compelling keynote by Professor Julian Savulescu, Head, CBmE, NUS Medicine, titled “How to Form Ethical Policy: Collective Reflective Equilibrium.” Prof Savulescu delved into the intricate process of developing ethical policies, advocating for a method that involves a continuous interplay between general principles and specific judgments, aiming to achieve a coherent and justified set of beliefs. This approach, he argued, is crucial for navigating complex bioethical challenges and ensuring that policies are both principled and practical.
Prof Julian Savulescu, Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics and Head, CBmE, NUS Medicine, delivers keynote speech
The first plenary session addressed regulatory and ethical issues in healthcare AI, including applications in colonoscopy, IVF, mental health, and diabetic retinopathy, with attention to liability and algorithmic bias, alongside exploration of “digital psychological twins” that simulate patient decisions and implications for informed consent. A second plenary session on longevity presented public attitudes toward longevity interventions and probed ethical considerations such as global equity and debates over what constitutes a “normal” lifespan. Other sessions covered AI authorship, regulation of AI in healthcare, ethical challenges in biological research, ethics in precision medicine, governance frameworks for genomic research, and hurdles in microbial genomics.
Day 2: Ethics in Regulation and Mainstream Medical Practice
The second day opened with an excellent keynote from Adjunct Professor (Dr) Raymond Chua, CEO of the Health Sciences Authority and Deputy Director-General of Health, MOH. His presentation, “Is Ethics an Important Component of Regulations in Tomorrow’s Healthcare?”, powerfully argued that while regulations are indispensable for ensuring the safety and efficacy of medical advancements, they possess inherent limitations in addressing broader ethical challenges faced by society. Dr. Chua highlighted that regulations can define clinical trial processes but cannot balance cultural respect with scientific rigour, nor can they adjudicate on fairness and equality in distribution, or determine public acceptability of technical guidelines. He passionately advocated for integrating ethics into regulatory frameworks from the outset, ensuring they are practical for all stakeholders and serve not as a brake on innovation, but as a “compass pointing us in the right direction” for safe, humane, inclusive, and responsible implementation.
The day’s sessions examined ethical policymaking and the integration of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) into mainstream practice. A plenary session explored how traditional medical practices can be integrated with biomedicine and highlighted emerging ethical issues around the use and regulation of traditional Malay medicine, including patient preferences. Other sessions addressed ethical conflicts when families opt for alternative treatments, building spaces for transdisciplinary knowledge exchange in traditional medicine, as well as research ethics and policy in TCIM.
The ABN Conference 2025 concluded with a closing address by Associate Professor Devanand Anantham, Chair of the National Medical Ethics Committee, marking a successful gathering that fostered critical dialogue and collaboration on the ethical challenges and opportunities in healthcare. The enthusiastic participation and thought-provoking questions throughout the event highlighted its impact on advancing bioethical discourse in the region and beyond.
A/Prof Devanand Anantham, National Medical Ethics Committee Chair, delivers the closing address
The ABN Conference 2025 proved to be an exceptionally successful and impactful event, fostering crucial dialogue and collaboration among global experts on the most pressing ethical challenges in modern healthcare. Its comprehensive exploration of AI, longevity, and traditional medicine, coupled with a strong emphasis on integrating ethics into policy and practice, solidified its role as a pivotal platform for advancing bioethical discourse and shaping a more responsible and equitable future for healthcare worldwide.
