E-commerce behemoth JD.com has joined forces with local drugmaker Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding to grow its presence in the online healthcare sector, Reuters reported, citing a filing by the latter to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. While the sale of prescription drugs online is currently prohibited in mainland China, Reuters cited unnamed industry sources as saying Beijing is expected to open up the market soon and is finalizing the list of medicines that will be approved for online sale. “The government has recently announced a series of policies to encourage the development of online pharmacy and we expect this area to be a huge market opportunity,” Shanghai Pharma said in the filing.
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