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China Jo-Jo Drugstore Joined Alibaba Health's E-prescription Platform in Anticipation of Online Prescription Drugs Sales in China

2015-02-10 22:00 3863

HANGZHOU, China, February 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. (NASDAQ CM: CJJD) (the "Company" or "China Jo-Jo"), a leading China-based retail and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and health care products through its own online and retail pharmacies, announced that it has entered into a service agreement with Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd.(HKSE: 0241) ("Alibaba Health") to utilize the electronic prescription platform in preparing for the upcoming authorization from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) on the online sales of prescription drugs in China.

Through Alibaba Health's recently launched mobile app, Alijk, patients are able to upload and send photocopies of doctor's prescriptions to nearby pharmacies so as to check the availability of medicines, compare the prices and eventually make the payments. Those qualified pharmacies partnering with Alibaba Health, such as China Jo-Jo, can then fill the orders via in-store purchase or home delivery service. By combining Alibaba Health's online platform with the Company's offline pharmacy expertise, China Jo-Jo believes this innovative business model will greatly benefit its customers, and open up new growth opportunities.

According to industry statistics, the annual Chinese pharmaceutical sales exceeds one trillion RMB (or $160 billion USD), and 80% of that are from sales of prescription drugs. Until now, the vast majority of prescription drugs are controlled by state-owned hospitals that rely on pharmaceutical sales for profits. With little or no competition, prescription drugs sold by these hospitals are overpriced, and doctors tend to over prescribe. Chinese government, to reform its rigid health care system, is therefore adopting zero percent drug markup policy in hospitals and allowing online sales of prescription medicine. We expect that the official policies for online sales of prescription drugs will be released in 2015.

Ms. Li Qi, Secretary and Director of the Company, stated, 'We are very excited to team up with Alibaba Health to build a new future for ecommerce of pharmaceutical products. Besides assembling a dedicated team to work with Alibaba Health, we have also been actively focusing on procuring more products and building inventories, as well as recruiting qualified physicians and licensed pharmacists. As more and more sales of prescription drugs will be shifted from hospitals to both online and offline drugstores, all of these new initiatives are aim to capture new businesses.'

About China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.

China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc., through its own retail drugstores, wholesale distributor and online pharmacy, is a leading retailer and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China. As of September 30, 2014, the Company had 51 retail pharmacies in Hangzhou. The Company's wholesale subsidiary not only supplies its retail stores, but also distributes drug and other healthcare products to other drugstores and drug vendors. The Company routinely posts important information on its corporate websites at www.jiuzhou-drugstore.com (Chinese) and www.chinajojodrugstores.com (English).

About Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd.

Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited, an investment holding company, provides integrated information and content services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through Product Identification, Authentication, and Tracking System (PIATS) Business; and System Integration and Software Development segments. The company offers product tracking, recall, and enforcement information services to relevant authorities through the operation of PIATS; product tracking and logistics information services to manufacturers; and services to consumers for verifying product information and origins. Its PIATS is used for various products, such as drugs, food and beverage, cosmetics, and agricultural resources.

The company also provides telecommunications/information value-added services (VAS) comprising SMS, IVRS, and other telecom services; call center outsourcing service for telecom operators, financial institutions, and e-commerce companies; and other telecommunication/information VAS include IP phone service and business SMS services, as well as offers governmental, commercial, and entertainment information through its SMS and IVRS services. The company was formerly known as CITIC 21CN Company Limited and changed its name to Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited in September 2014.

Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holdings, Ltd. (BABA).

Forward Looking Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the Company that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. Any such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, financial guidance, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," "anticipate," the negatives thereof, or comparable terminology. Such statements typically involve risks and uncertainties and may include financial projections or information regarding the progress of new product development. It is routine for the Company's internal projections and expectations to change as the quarter and year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections and beliefs upon which the Company bases its expectations may change. Although these expectations may change, the Company is under no obligation to inform you if they do. Actual results could differ materially from the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions in the People's Republic of China, variations in cash flow, reliance on collaborative retail partners and on new product development, variations in new product development, risks associated with rapid technological change, and the potential of introduced or undetected flaws and defects in products. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these and other important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-jo-jo-drugstore-joined-alibaba-healths-e-prescription-platform-in-anticipation-of-online-prescription-drugs-sales-in-china-300033604.html

Source: China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.
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