Alibaba launches medical business in China
12-Nov-14, Want China Times
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is realizing his dream to expand into the medical and health business, with the recent launch of Alibaba Health Information Technology, Guangzhou's Time Weekly reports.
The newly formed unit was known as Citic 21CN before it adopted a new name on Oct. 21, 10 months after the e-commerce giant acquired a majority stake in the company.
Citic 21CN's 95095 platform was the first website in China to acquire a license to sell drugs online, while the company's coding system established for drugs has been viewed as the most important asset Alibaba acquired during the deal, the newspaper said.
The drug sales license allow Alibaba to differentiate its Taobao and Tmall online shopping services from rivals such as Jingdong Mall (JD.com) and Tencent, both of which have set up a medication site, but cannot sell drugs themselves.