Dato' Eisah Binti A. Rahman

Dato’ Eisah has been a key figure in the development of the pharmacy and pharmaceutical sectors in Malaysia, having served the Ministry of Health for more than 35 years. Her career in the Ministry began in 1979 as a pharmacist, unfolding as she went on to hold key positions that included heading the Pharmaceutical Microbiology Lab and GMP and Licensing Section, being Deputy Director of the Centre for Product Registration and, eventually, Director of the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (“NPCB”), now known as the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). In 2007, she was made Director of Pharmacy Enforcement and was promoted to Senior Director of Pharmaceutical Services in 2008, taking charge of the entire pharmacy programme in Malaysia. Since 2008, she has also served as Registrar of the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia. Dato’ Eisah has been involved in various high-level national committees such as the Ministry of Health’s Steering Committee for National Medicines Policy. She has also contributed to international policymaking in her capacity as an advisor in the areas of regulations and pharmaceutical quality assurance, and through sharing her expertise on regulatory matters at healthcare related conferences.

She was involved in the ASEAN harmonisation initiatives for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, traditional medicines and health supplements. As Chair of the Pharmaceutical Product Working Group of the ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ), she was instrumental in the implementation of the ASEAN Common Technical Dossier and the ASEAN Technical Guidelines. Under her leadership, NPCB was accepted as a member of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) in 2002, and designated a Non-OECD Member Adhering to the OECD Mutual Acceptance Data (OECD-MAD) System effective March 2013. Also, under her helm, the Pharmaceutical Services Division received the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Award 2013 and the Special Innovation Award 2013 for initiatives to combat counterfeit medicines.

Dato’ Eisah is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia (ICDM) and a Patron/ Adviser to ISPE Malaysia Affiliate.