Jing-Jin-Ji (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy Launches to Build a High-Quality, Premium-Priced Traditional Chinese Medicine Supply System

On June 4, at the 7th Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industrial Development Conference and the 26th International Herbal Medicine Festival & 2024 China Anguo Herbal Medicine and Healthcare Products Exchange Fair held in Anguo, Hebei Province, a notable industrial cooperation project—the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy”—was officially unveiled. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the major national strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the conference showcased achievements in collaborative development within the TCM sector. As the nation’s first pilot “Central Cloud Pharmacy,” the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy will upgrade the supply chain system and promote high-quality development of the TCM industry through a new model of TCM services characterized by “high quality, competitive pricing, and superior service.”

 Figure | Hebei Anguo, WeDoctor Group, and Bianque Group Jointly Launch the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy”

This project is jointly developed by the Anguo Municipal People's Government, WeDoctor Group, and Bianque Group. By integrating high-quality resources across the upstream and downstream of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industrial chain—including authentic medicinal herb production areas, cultivation enterprises, manufacturing companies, and distribution firms—it leverages advanced technologies and innovative models to comprehensively optimize the TCM supply network. The initiative promotes scientific and ecological cultivation, enhances the efficiency of supply-demand matching, ensures stable market supply, and provides both online and offline pharmaceutical care services, with the aim of overall improving regional herbal quality and establishing an efficient response and allocation mechanism. Concurrently with the conference, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei TCM Industry Fund was launched. This fund will support in-depth innovation of the Central Cloud Pharmacy Platform and facilitate deep integration of resources across the industry’s upstream and downstream sectors, fostering a new market paradigm for TCM characterized by “premium quality at premium prices.”

Li Daning, former Deputy Director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Wei Shengli, Deputy Dean of the School of Chinese Materia Medica at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; Wang Haihong, Deputy Director of the Baoding Medical Insurance Bureau; and Ma Xuejun, Third-Level Researcher at the Baoding Municipal Health Commission, witnessed the project launch. Liang Zhonglin, Deputy Secretary of the Anguo Municipal Party Committee and Mayor; Liao Jieyuan, Chairman of WeDoctor Group; Qiu Zheng, Head of WeDoctor Industrial Fund; Fan Jiping, Director and President of Bianque Group; and Chen Gangfu, Director of Bianque Group and President of Bianque Traditional Chinese Medicine, attended the launch event.

Figure | Launch of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Fund for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

As Chinese herbal medicines are classified as agricultural by-products, quality management in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) production fails to extend to the cultivation stage, making quality control a major challenge for TCM modernization. In recent years, various regions have sought to optimize the quality of herbal materials at the upstream level by promoting ecological cultivation, wild-simulated cultivation, and standardized green and organic farming practices. However, due to the lack of digital management tools, it has been impossible to establish a quality traceability system, leading to the dilemma where “premium quality” fails to command “premium prices.” Meanwhile, consumers, lacking professional expertise, are unable to distinguish between high- and low-quality TCM products when making purchases.

The “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy” leverages digital and intelligent management tools, such as AI, to achieve full-process traceability of traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) materials from cultivation to sales, thereby ensuring their quality and safety. The project encompasses the development of a TCM materials trading platform, a supply guarantee consortium, and origin warehouses for authentic regional herbs. It will establish an innovative platform that integrates digital trading, variety-specific supply assurance, end-to-end traceability and quality control, logistics and distribution, and information-based management, providing robust support for the modernization of the TCM industry.

Leveraging the policy, technological, and operational advantages of the Shandong Internet Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Materials Trading Center, the TCM (materials) trading platform will establish a digital platform serving the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, providing platform support for national initiatives to strengthen the unified national market and advance centralized drug procurement. The “3P One-Code” closed-loop full-process traceability and quality control system for TCM, along with the “Bianque Standard” featuring a three-tier, five-grade classification system for TCM materials—both developed by Bianque Group—will provide robust assurance for the quality and safety of TCM decoction pieces.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Supply Guarantee Consortium brings together diverse stakeholders, including variety-specific cultivation bases, decoction piece manufacturers, granule producers, proprietary Chinese medicine manufacturers, and pharmaceutical commerce enterprises, to form a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) supply guarantee alliance. This initiative establishes a robust framework for ensuring the stable supply of high-quality TCM products. Driven by the dual engines of the TCM (herbal materials) trading platform and the Supply Guarantee Consortium, resources can be effectively integrated and optimized, fostering a favorable market environment characterized by enhanced quality standards, stabilized pricing through benchmarking, and smooth supply and distribution channels.

Figure | Bianque Group Signs Origin Warehouse Cooperation Agreement with Local Governments of Authentic Medicinal Herb Production Areas for the Central Cloud Pharmacy Project

The construction of origin warehouses for authentic medicinal herbs is a major highlight of the project. By promoting standardized cultivation and standardized cost accounting in Anguo, Hebei Province, and other authentic herb-producing regions across China, the project has established standardized and intensive primary processing, warehousing, and logistics centers, along with a fully digital management platform. This effectively enhances the quality of medicinal herbs at the source. Furthermore, the seamless integration of its digital management platform with trading platforms will rapidly establish direct channels between production and sales, ensuring that “high-quality medicines” command “premium prices.” At the opening ceremony of the conference, Bianque Group signed origin warehouse cooperation agreements with the governments of Anguo City, Neiqiu County, Shexian County, and Longhua County—key producing areas for authentic medicinal herbs—for the Central Cloud Pharmacy project. It is reported that Bianque Group’s origin warehouse collaborations implemented nationwide now cover 28 varieties.

Notably, in response to the growing consumer demand for products that are both medicinal and edible, the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy” has planned a dedicated segment for such items. The first phase of the product zone has been completed and simultaneously launched on the user platforms of WeDoctor and Bian Que. Leveraging the Central Cloud Pharmacy’s abundant supply chain resources for medicinal materials and its comprehensive production and distribution systems, the Medicinal-and-Edible Products Zone collaborates with experts at all levels to develop and curate high-quality, authentic products based on classic formulations. It offers constitution identification and personalized “one person, one prescription” customization services, thereby establishing an integrated health service system for medicinal-and-edible products. Open to cooperation across China, it continues to promote the aggregation of premium medicinal-and-edible products, creating a one-stop “health shopping” platform for consumers.

In his address, Liang Zhonglin, Deputy Secretary of the Anguo Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Anguo, stated that the launch and construction of projects such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industry Fund will vigorously promote the whole-chain transformation and upgrading of Anguo’s TCM industry. This will further develop modern TCM industrial clusters, thereby expanding the influence of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei TCM industry and injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of China’s TCM sector. Anguo is committed to optimizing end-to-end services, strengthening comprehensive factor guarantees, and improving whole-chain follow-up mechanisms to ensure the smooth implementation of these projects. Meanwhile, Anguo will focus on the conversion of scientific and technological achievements, leveraging the tangible outcomes of these projects to drive high-quality economic and social development.

Figure | Anguo Recruits Industry Experts and Enterprises to Build Urban Partnerships, Strengthening the Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Cluster

“The launch and construction of the ‘Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy’ represents not only a comprehensive upgrade and innovation of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, but also a significant enhancement of TCM health service capabilities,” said Liao Jieyuan, Chairman of WeDoctor Group. “By upgrading the entire chain encompassing cultivation, production, and trading, we can promptly meet public demand for high-quality TCM materials and products that are both medicinal and edible. Furthermore, the development of an AI-enabled digital intelligence platform will empower the modernization of TCM governance systems and capacities, thereby driving the continuous advancement of the TCM sector.”

“Outline of the Strategic Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2016–2030)” explicitly states that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an indispensable role in establishing a basic healthcare system with Chinese characteristics and holds significant importance for accelerating the development of Healthy China. However, practical issues such as insufficient industry concentration and the declining quality of certain TCM herbal materials have become major bottlenecks constraining the sustainable development of TCM.

To break the deadlock in herbal material quality, in November last year, the three major traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) distribution hubs—Anguo City, Bozhou City, and Zhangshu City—joined hands with the Shandong Internet TCM (Herbal Materials) Trading Center to jointly launch the “National High-Quality, Fair-Price Action for TCM (Herbal Materials),” aimed at enhancing the quality of TCM materials. Recently, the National Healthcare Security Administration released an important document to promote the expansion of centralized pharmaceutical procurement toward higher quality and broader coverage. Following its initial pilot last year, the joint procurement of TCM decoction pieces has been upgraded to a national alliance-based procurement model. This provides strong policy support and market opportunities for the launch and development of the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy.”

The establishment of the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Anguo) Central Cloud Pharmacy” represents a significant step in accelerating the implementation of the “High Quality, Reasonable Price” initiative. It not only consolidates the achievements of this initiative but also integrates high-quality resources nationwide to provide high-standard traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and beyond. Furthermore, it strengthens regional collaboration and comprehensively enhances market standardization. It is foreseeable that, following successful pilot implementation and the subsequent coordinated advancement with Bozhou and Zhangshu, the “Central Cloud Pharmacy” model will become a key driver in promoting the modernization and industrialization of TCM in China.