Shanghai Pharma Cloud Health Makes Debut at CIIE: Leading Access to Innovative Therapies Through Specialized Pharmacy Network

On November 10, 2024, Shanghai Pharma Health Commerce Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SPH Health Commerce") made its stunning debut at the 7th China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as "CIIE") on November 9, 2024. Centered on the theme "Leveraging New Quality Productive Forces as an Engine to Accelerate the Integrated Strategic Layout for the Full Lifecycle of Innovative Drugs," the company garnered extensive attention and acclaim from the global industry, thanks to its exceptional advantages in full-lifecycle commercialization service platforms for innovative drugs and its forward-looking strategic vision.

This landmark event witnessed the historic moment when SPH Health Commerce and government agencies jointly initiated the blueprint for excellence in patient services, forging deep collaborations with domestic and international innovative pharmaceutical companies, various medical institutions, and ecosystem partners. Through its "Yi Yao" full-cycle integrated service model—"For new and specialty drugs, turn to Yi Yao"—it ensures that Chinese patients gain timely access to advanced innovative therapies from both China and abroad.

SPH Health Commerce CIIE Booth

The national initiative to "improve mechanisms supporting the development of innovative drugs and medical devices" was advanced as the State Council Executive Meeting approved the *Implementation Plan for Full-Chain Support of Innovative Drug Development*. This plan proposes strengthened policy safeguards across the entire value chain—from clinical research and development to manufacturing, including regulatory review and approval, and clinical application. It introduces supportive policies for innovative drugs spanning multiple areas such as payment, import and export, and financing and investment, thereby synergistically driving breakthroughs in their development. Looking ahead, the development of innovative drugs will be a key focus of China’s pharmaceutical industry.

SPH Health Commerce closely aligns with national strategies and key policies in the biopharmaceutical sector. By pooling professional expertise and building consensus across stakeholders, it supports innovative development across the entire biopharmaceutical industry chain, helping Shanghai establish itself as a global hub for R&D-driven economy and industrialization in biopharma. At this year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE), SPH Health Commerce, together with government agencies, launched the initiative “Building Dreams for a Healthy Future, Co-creating an Excellent Blueprint for Patient Services.” This initiative aims to deeply optimize patients’ healthcare experience and build a more comprehensive and efficient medical service ecosystem, leveraging technological innovation and comprehensive upgrades in service models. With its specialized platform for new and specialty drugs covering all categories, outstanding resource integration capabilities, and keen market innovation acumen, SPH Health Commerce is accelerating the implementation and execution of this initiative.

“Building Dreams for a Healthy Future, Crafting an Excellent Blueprint for Patient Services” Initiative Ceremony

Since its establishment in 2015, SPH Health Commerce, as a benchmark professional pharmacy for integrated full-cycle commercialization of innovative drugs in China, has been committed to building a patient-centric, full-cycle, integrated professional pharmacy service ecosystem.

To date, SPH Health Commerce has established over 200 “Yiyao Pharmacies” across China, with its service network covering 66 cities in 25 provinces. The company boasts a professional team of more than 400 pharmacists, providing services that span six major medical specialties and cover over 130 types of major diseases. By integrating an internet hospital platform, a specialized diagnosis and treatment system for specific diseases, and a deeply linked online-to-offline service model, SPH Health Commerce continuously optimizes service processes and quality. This enables the company to deliver more convenient, efficient, and professional full-cycle pharmaceutical care management services, thereby significantly enhancing patients’ medication purchasing experience and accessibility.

Among these, "Yiyao • Cloud Pharmacy," as the preferred system for the "last mile" of the "Internet + Healthcare" model built by SPH Health Commerce, has successfully broken the temporal and spatial limitations of traditional medical services. This enables more patients to access high-quality, efficient healthcare services, effectively resolving the last-mile challenge of medication accessibility.

In advancing the implementation of full-lifecycle commercialization services for innovative drugs, SPH Health Commerce has continuously expanded the boundaries of its professional pharmacy service ecosystem, actively participating in and leading the commercialization process of innovative therapies. Currently, the company has established stable partnerships with over 300 multinational and domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies, becoming the preferred platform for introducing global cutting-edge innovative treatments to China. It has successfully achieved an 80% share in first-launch collaborations for new specialty drugs, cumulatively benefiting more than 6 million patients.

At the China International Import Expo (CIIE), SPH Health Commerce established in-depth strategic collaborations with renowned domestic and international innovative pharmaceutical companies, various medical institutions, and ecosystem partners, jointly promoting the coordinated development of the industrial ecosystem. During the event, it joined forces with SciClone to enhance the quality of whole-course health management services, facilitating its transformation into a comprehensive health management service platform. Additionally, it collaborated with Baxter Healthcare to explore new models integrating “medical technology + medical services,” achieving new breakthroughs in full-lifecycle commercialization services for innovative drugs through multiple dimensions, including commercial distribution partnerships, out-of-hospital retail promotion, and e-commerce platform channel promotion.

Meanwhile, it has deepened its cooperation with Yuanhe Medical to jointly provide comprehensive, omni-channel, and end-to-end medical innovation services. It has also partnered with Pacific Insurance to achieve full-model coverage of insurance services, effectively alleviating patients’ financial burden for medical expenses. In addition, SPH Health Commerce has collaborated with InnoCare Pharma to jointly build a 360° pharmacy service system, further enhancing patients’ medication experience; and has joined forces with Sina Aiwen Doctor to integrate online and offline resources, providing patients with convenient, efficient, professional, and intelligent pharmaceutical and healthcare services.

“Capital-Industry Linkage, Accelerating Innovation and Upgrading” Exchange Forum

These collaborations not only underscore SPH Health Commerce’s leadership and strategic foresight in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, but also demonstrate its nine-year commitment to deep cultivation and accumulated strength. At the China International Import Expo (CIIE), SPH Health Commerce received recognition and acclaim from investors including ICBC Financial Asset Investment, Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Futeng Capital, CCB International Investment, and Lansheng Investment. By establishing an innovation and investment communication platform for pharmaceutical services, focusing on capital-industry synergy, and accelerating innovative upgrades, the company has taken solid and robust steps toward promoting high-quality development in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.

Rare diseases, also known as "orphan diseases," have an extremely low incidence rate. There are currently over 7,000 known rare diseases worldwide, with the number increasing by 250 to 280 each year. Due to frequent diagnostic challenges, many rare diseases are misdiagnosed and treated as common conditions or remain undetected, suggesting that the actual number of disease types may be even higher. Data indicates that there are approximately 1,400 known rare diseases in China, and the population of rare disease patients in the country has exceeded 20 million.

Since 2016, rare diseases have gained increasing recognition in China as a public health priority. The Chinese government has begun to address rare diseases more systematically through coordinated and integrated cross-departmental approaches. SPH Health Commerce has actively responded to national policies, consistently fulfilling its social responsibilities while pursuing corporate development, with sustained attention and care for the rare disease patient community. In recent years, the company has achieved remarkable results in developing specialized programs such as charitable assistance and rare disease initiatives, establishing unique advantages within its ecosystem. As the largest overall contractor for charitable assistance programs in China, SPH Health Commerce manages nearly 70 nationwide master contracts, with the total annual value of donated medications approaching RMB 10 billion.

“Care for Patients with Rare Diseases” Exchange Forum

During the China International Import Expo (CIIE), SPH Health Commerce spearheaded a lupus rare disease care forum themed “Walking Side by Side with Butterflies, Illuminating the Light of Hope.” The event highlighted significant advancements in lupus treatment and a series of key initiatives aimed at improving patients’ quality of life, while actively calling on all sectors of society to pay greater attention to the rare disease community. Meanwhile, panelists engaged in in-depth discussions on how to better serve lupus patients across various aspects, including drug research and development, medication supply, patient management, and innovative payment solutions.

At the event, SPH Health Commerce and the Jiren Charity Foundation signed a cooperation agreement. Both parties will leverage their respective strengths, actively fulfill social responsibilities, and continuously increase investment in public welfare initiatives to provide more comprehensive and professional medical assistance and care services to patients with rare diseases. Meanwhile, the two sides will strengthen collaboration and coordination in areas such as pharmaceutical research and development and talent cultivation, jointly contributing to the innovative development of China’s pharmaceutical industry and bringing greater hope and well-being to patients with rare diseases.

The successful debut at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) not only served as a comprehensive demonstration of SPH Health Commerce’s capabilities but also marked a key milestone in its efforts to promote high-quality development in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry and co-create a blueprint for exceptional patient services. Looking ahead, SPH Health Commerce will continue to uphold its original aspiration and mission of being “patient-centric.” With a more open mindset, innovative thinking, and pragmatic actions, the company will continuously explore and innovate service models and methods, fully empowering the “golden triangle” of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. It is committed to building a more comprehensive and efficient professional pharmacy and hospital-adjacent ecological medical service system. Amid the rapid development of the global healthcare industry and the evolving needs of patients, SPH Health Commerce will maintain keen market insight and forward-looking strategic vision. By joining hands with global partners, it aims to jointly drive the development of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector and contribute greater strength toward achieving the grand objectives of “Healthy China 2030.”

Since its establishment in 2015, SPH Health Commerce has been grounded in the broader context of "Healthy China," adhering to a "patient-centric" philosophy. It actively promotes the commercialization of innovative drugs, enhancing patients' access to medications, services, and payment solutions. By supporting healthcare system reforms, it has pioneered the professional pharmacy model for the separation of prescribing and dispensing in China. SPH Health Commerce has created a professional prescription drug service brand centered on the core concept of "For new and specialty drugs, turn to Yi Yao." Currently, the nationally integrated network of "Yi Yao Pharmacies" comprises over 200 locations, covering 66 cities across 25 provinces in China. It provides end-to-end supply chain management, charitable assistance, patient education, and innovative payment services such as urban supplemental health insurance for more than 300 multinational corporations (MNCs) and domestic innovative pharmaceutical companies, becoming the preferred channel for introducing cutting-edge global innovative therapies into the Chinese market. SPH Health Commerce continues to deepen its digital operations and upgrade its internet platforms, offering professional services including digital marketing, patient services, innovative payment solutions, and internet hospital operations to governments, medical institutions, R&D and pharmaceutical enterprises, and payers. By building an internet hospital platform and a specialized disease diagnosis and treatment system, it provides patients with an integrated healthcare solution encompassing "medical care, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and disease management."

From the commercialization of innovative drugs and the implementation and delivery of specialized pharmaceutical services, to collaborative linkages and explorations across diverse fields. Over the past year, SPH Health Commerce has consecutively received honors and recognitions from government bodies, industry sectors, capital markets, and various segments of society. These include being certified as a “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” enterprise by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, being listed on Fortune China’s 2023 list of Chinese Startups with the Greatest Social Impact, and being recognized as one of Shanghai’s Key Service-Oriented Unicorn Enterprises.

As the pace of global approvals for cutting-edge, high-value innovative drugs accelerates and patients’ expectations for novel therapies grow, SPH Health Commerce will leverage the China International Import Expo (CIIE)—a world-class platform for openness—to comprehensively showcase its innovative achievements in broadly empowering the out-of-hospital pharmaceutical care ecosystem. Joining hands with partners from all sectors worldwide, SPH Health Commerce is committed to creating greater value for patients and jointly advancing the ambitious goals of “Healthy China 2030.”