Online sales help firms stay healthy

"For online giants, they are much bigger in size and stronger in capital. It is easy for e-commerce platforms to meet the standards of logistics and storage of medical e-business," Yu said.

Yu also warned that the online pharmaceutical industry must be strictly supervised and regulated, as trust has been a focal point for China's e-commerce.

Liu echoed that assessment. "Prescription drug sales online will face a number of challenges in the near term, ranging from verification of doctors' prescriptions to delivery standards that need to meet GSP (good supply practices) requirements."

And for now, customers will not be able to use their medical insurance surplus toward online transactions, under-mining a price advantage that was key for e-commerce in the first place.

"These challenges are not insurmountable, though," said Liu.

Nevertheless, the blossoming online medical sector is also testing e-commerce channels with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

"It may soon be recognized as the fourth channel and a force to be reckoned with," Liu said.

Consumers will be more empowered, and direct-to-consumer education as well as online patient community will play an increasingly important role, he said.

Li Guoqing, a senior official at the State Food and Drug Administration, said earlier that Chinese online drug sellers were not profitable and were limited by the source of prescription and health insurance reimbursement.

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