JD Health Collaborates with Pharmaceutical Companies to Address Ophthalmic Medication Challenges and Meet Consumer Eye Health Needs

On June 6, as the 30th National Eye Care Day approached, JD Health, in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies in ophthalmology and experts in eye care, hosted the “Boundless Vision, Synergistic Growth” 2025 JD Health Eye Health Industry Summit. The event aimed to promote scientific eye care practices through industry dialogue and data insights, while exploring emerging user needs and industry trends in the field of ophthalmology.

Jin Enlin, Member of the SEC Committee at JD.com Group and CEO of JD Health, stated that as the retail channel with the most comprehensive portfolio of ophthalmic medications in China, JD Health aims to collaborate with more partners to leverage their respective strengths. This initiative seeks to enhance patients’ understanding of eye diseases, expand the service boundaries for physicians, and bring health and hope to a broader population of ophthalmic patients.

Currently, with the widespread adoption of electronic devices and the accelerating pace of life, eye health issues have gradually become a focal point of concern across all sectors of society. According to the WHO’s World Health Statistics 2024 Report, approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide suffer from vision impairment. In China, patient demand for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases continues to rise, encompassing individuals of all age groups.

At the summit, Dr. Tao Yong, Chief Physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, delivered a keynote address. He stated that eye health is an integral component of overall physical and mental well-being. The three core trends currently shaping ophthalmic diseases are the decreasing age of onset for myopia among adolescents, the widespread prevalence of dry eye disease across the population, and the compounding effects of visual fatigue and chronic inflammation. Dr. Tao emphasized that scientific maintenance strategies are crucial in addressing these ocular health challenges. These strategies should encompass the dual optimization of environment and habits, the synergistic effects of nutrition and exercise, the appropriate use of digital eye-care tools, and necessary pharmacological interventions.

Li Haili, Chief Physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at Peking University First Hospital; Hou Jing, Chief Physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at Peking University People’s Hospital; and Hu Andianna, Associate Chief Physician at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, shared insights on eye health issues affecting various populations, including adolescents and the elderly, based on their clinical experience. They emphasized the importance of scientific prevention and control as well as daily care. The head of JD Health’s Internet Medical Business Division introduced that JD Health had already launched its Ophthalmology Center in 2019. Currently, JD Internet Hospital has assembled nearly 2,000 ophthalmologists from top-tier (Grade A tertiary) hospitals across China, providing online services 24/7 with an average response time of 30 seconds, thereby delivering professional ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment services to users anytime and anywhere.

Hu Bei, President of Zhenshiming Pharmaceutical, stated that online channels have become the core platform for brands to reach consumers and boost sales. Through platforms such as JD Health, the company has achieved deep integration of its B2C and O2O operations, strengthening brand communication while meeting users’ demands for immediacy and convenience in medication access through services like “next-day delivery” and “instant purchase.” According to the head of JD Health’s Pharmaceutical Business Division, JD Health provided medication services to over 11 million patients with eye diseases in 2024, with more than 40% of these users coming from third-tier cities and below.

Zhang Chenyang, President of the Marketing Center at Xingqi Eye Pharmaceutical, stated that the core keyword for future pharmaceutical companies’ channel strategies is “change.” He emphasized the need to actively embrace internet and artificial intelligence technologies to accelerate new drug development and precision marketing, while deepening collaborations with platforms such as JD Health to jointly create an eye health ecosystem.

Yu Xiang, President of Santen China, introduced that Santen is a century-old global enterprise dedicated to ophthalmology, with an extensive portfolio of marketed and pipeline products in the field. The new Santen Rose® product will make its online debut on JD Health, reflecting the company’s confidence in the value of online channels to integrate supply chain, logistics, medical resources, and digital capabilities, thereby achieving efficient matching of user needs and comprehensive coverage across all scenarios.

At the conference, JD Health, in collaboration with a third-party institution, released the White Paper on Eye Health in the “New Vision Era” (hereinafter referred to as the “White Paper”). Based on data from the JD platform and consumer surveys, the White Paper provides a comprehensive overview of consumption trends in eye health.

The White Paper indicates that the sales growth of ophthalmic medications on JD Health has far exceeded the industry average. Over the past three years, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the ophthalmic medication category reached 31.7%, with the year-on-year growth rate surpassing 56.5% in the first five months of 2025. Consumer demand for ophthalmic medications is characterized by “high frequency and diversification”; however, improving patient adherence remains challenging, primarily due to factors such as prolonged treatment cycles and the difficulty of changing eye-use habits.

The white paper also highlights the core value of online channels in eye health management. Online channels, particularly internet hospitals, are accelerating the entire patient journey for ophthalmic medications—from awareness and research to purchase. Data shows that patients who consulted via JD Health’s Internet Hospital experienced a more than 20% increase in overall consultation rates, with the interval between visits shortened from 4.3 months through traditional channels to 2.8 months.

The head of the ophthalmic and ENT pharmaceutical category at JD Health’s Pharmaceutical Business Division stated that three major categories—medications for dry eye, visual fatigue, and pediatric myopia—demonstrate prominent advantages in online channels. Specifically, sales of second-generation dry eye medications (cyclosporine/diquafosol sodium) have more than quadrupled over the past three years. Searches for 0.01% atropine sulfate eye drops, used to treat pediatric myopia, have consistently ranked among the top five most-searched terms in the ophthalmic medication category. Additionally, survey data indicate that nearly 70% of patients obtained information about escin and digitalis glycosides for visual fatigue through JD Internet Hospital.

Supply chain capabilities have always been the cornerstone of JD Health’s business. Currently, JD Health has become the retail channel with the most comprehensive range of ophthalmic medications in China. By partnering with over 95% of ophthalmic medication brands on the market, JD Health has jointly promoted the affordable accessibility of ophthalmic drugs.

During this event, Santen’s star product, Vitamin B12 Eye Drops (Santen Rose^®), Ocuvex’s new product for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis, cetirizine hydrochloride eye drops, made its online debut on JD Health. As a premier launch platform for new drugs, JD Health boasts robust end-to-end capabilities, leveraging early-stage scientific popularization, physician and patient education, and targeted advertising to fully meet pharmaceutical companies’ growth needs and accelerate the market penetration of novel ophthalmic therapies.

For Scientific Eye Care, Choose JD. In the future, JD Health will continue to enhance its supply chain capabilities for ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, leverage the advantages of its integrated business model combining “self-operated sales + online platform + instant retail,” further expand its product portfolio for conditions such as dry eye, myopia, glaucoma, and cataracts, and build a comprehensive, full-lifecycle eye health protection system covering prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation, based on its integrated online-offline medical service layout, thereby promoting high-quality development in the eye health industry.