The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) plans to allow online sales of prescription drugs as early as this month, opening up the market to existing online e-commerce platform operators like Alibaba.com and JD.com.
Speculation about a new policy has been circulating since mid-2014. If approved, the policy could lead to the emergence of a market worth more than RMB 1 trillion ($161 billion) as sales shift from hospitals to online pharmacies. The policy will also help reform the Chinese market that has been solely controlled by state hospitals and distributors.
