China Issues Guidelines for Online Prescription Drug Sales

Ebrun, 6/09/14

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) recently released new guidelines for online prescription drug sales, "Measures for the Supervision of Internet Food and Drug Operations (Draft for Public Comment)," allowing online drug sales website operators to sell prescription drugs to verified patients.

Beijing-based B2C e-commerce platform JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) has long held plans to sell prescription drugs online, according to industry reports. The company plans for users to be able to purchase drugs on JD.com after submitting their prescriptions and electronic medical histories. JD.com would also be responsible for drug delivery under the plan.

According to prior regulations, patients in China can only purchase prescription drugs at brick-and-mortar drugs stores with a doctor's prescription, while online merchants are not allowed to sell prescription drugs under any circumstance.

Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Update: Jingdong to Launch Pharmaceuticals E-Commerce Platform," MD 8/21/13 issue.

Keywords: e-commerce Internet B2C China Food and Drug Administration JD.com JD regulation online healthcare

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