Dingdang Quick Medicine Secures RMB 600 Million in New Funding Round with Participation from Multiple State-Backed Investment Funds

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) reported that on March 27, Dingdang Medicine, a new retail pharmaceutical company, announced the completion of a new round of financing amounting to RMB 600 million. This round was jointly invested by CMB International Capital, the fund managed by CICC Zhide Platform under CICC Capital, Sinopharm CICC, and SoftBank China Capital. China Renaissance served as the exclusive financial advisor for this financing. The proceeds will be primarily used to strengthen Dingdang Medicine’s existing business operations and expand into innovative business areas.

Dingdang Kuaiyao is a new retail pharmaceutical enterprise that operates its own Dingdang Smart Pharmacies and maintains an in-house professional drug delivery team. It has pioneered a model featuring “direct supply from manufacturers, online ordering with store delivery, and online ordering with store pickup.” The company provides services in core areas of major cities across China, including 24/7 operations, access to doctors within one minute, and home delivery of medications within 28 minutes, thereby addressing five key consumer pain points related to medication use: urgency, convenience, nighttime needs, specialization, and privacy.

Dingdang Medicine has joined forces with more than 600 renowned pharmaceutical companies both domestically and internationally, including GlaxoSmithKline (US), Bayer (Germany), and Kobayashi Pharmaceutical (Japan), to establish the “FSC (Factory Service Customer) Pharmaceutical Alliance,” thereby strengthening its supply chain advantages. Since its inception in 2015, Dingdang Medicine has provided premium health services to tens of millions of consumers.

According to on-site information, Dingdang Medicine currently operates hundreds of self-operated stores nationwide. Leveraging internet-based geo-fencing technology, it has achieved citywide coverage in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, and other cities. Following this round of financing, Dingdang Medicine will further densify its network of Dingdang Smart Pharmacies in existing cities and gradually expand into key central cities across China, thereby better serving consumers.

Yang Wenlong, Founder and Chairman of Dingdang Kuaiyao, stated that over the past 1,500 days and nights dedicated to safeguarding consumer health, Dingdang has delivered 50 million home delivery services. Today, Dingdang is not only fast but also highly specialized; beyond rapid medicine delivery and quality service, it provides consumers with 24/7 home delivery within 28 minutes, supported by professional online doctors, pharmacists, and a specialized delivery team. In 2019, Dingdang Kuaiyao will further integrate AI technology with new pharmaceutical retail models to offer consumers more personalized, intelligent, and precise health services.

From an industry perspective, currently active pharmaceutical O2O platforms can be broadly categorized into two types: the first is the self-operated model, which involves building its own stores, technology, operations, and delivery systems, with leading players being Dingdang Medicine and Kuai Fang Song Yao; the second is the platform model, which serves as a traffic entry point to attract C-end users and then assigns orders to partner pharmacies based on geographic location, such as Meituan Dianping, Ali Health, Ele.me, and JD Daojia, generally utilizing shared delivery personnel.

Self-operated models ensure absolute control over the entire process, offering superior performance in service hours, delivery timeliness, and customer experience; however, their service coverage expands relatively slowly due to constraints on store expansion costs and speed. Platform-based models emphasize traffic entry points and the concept of one-stop services, providing users with a faster and more convenient experience while ensuring basic service quality.

It is difficult to assess the relative merits of these two models, especially now that platform delivery capabilities have become standardized. Service capacity is no longer a primary competitive factor; instead, the value of brand recognition is coming to the fore. In other words, as food delivery becomes assembly-line and factory-like in nature, the cost savings achieved through shared delivery personnel deserve greater attention.

Lian Suping, a member of the Management Committee of China Merchants Bank International Limited and head of the CMB Telecom New Trends Fund, stated: “The new retail pharmaceutical sector represents the business model with the clearest structure and closest consumer engagement within the internet-based general health industry. China Merchants Bank International and the CMB Telecom New Trends Fund maintain close attention to leading enterprises across various segments of healthcare and new retail pharmaceuticals. We highly value Chairman Yang Wenlong’s extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry and particularly recognize the rapid growth achieved by Dingdang Medicine, a benchmark enterprise in new retail pharmaceuticals, over the past four years, as well as its future development potential. As the lead investor, we hope to accompany Dingdang Medicine all the way as it grows into a leading enterprise in the general health sector.”

Shan Junbao, Vice President of CICC Capital and General Manager of CICC Zhide Investment Management Co., Ltd., stated, “As a leading capital firm and broker-direct investment fund in China’s big health industry, we remain optimistic about investment opportunities in this sector. Dingdang Medicine has implemented the ‘online order, store delivery’ and ‘online order, store pickup’ models through its self-operated pharmacies and in-house delivery teams, providing consumers with professional services 24/7 with delivery to their doorstep within 28 minutes. This represents a best practice combining the big health industry with internet thinking. Furthermore, the company possesses substantial accumulation and inherent advantages in supply chain management and the construction of a new retail ground network. We believe that, with the support of industrial capital, the company will surely reshape the landscape of new retail in China’s pharmaceutical industry.”

Li Ke, Vice Chairman of Sinopharm CICC, stated, “As an investment fund focused on the healthcare sector, we are highly optimistic about Dingdang Medicine’s new retail model in pharmaceutical distribution. We also believe that as the company continues to grow and expand, it will have a profound impact on China’s pharmaceutical distribution landscape. As a specialized investment fund jointly established by Sinopharm Holdings and CICC Capital in the healthcare sector, Sinopharm CICC will leverage Sinopharm Holdings’ robust industrial resources and CICC Capital’s extensive expertise in capital operations to support and assist Dingdang Medicine’s development.”

“As a long-standing shareholder of Dingdang Medicine, SoftBank China remains optimistic about the company’s development. Our increased investment in this round further underscores our confidence,” said Jiang Min, Partner at SoftBank China Capital. “Since we began our partnership with Dingdang in 2017, its team has demonstrated enterprise, innovation, and a drive to exceed shareholders’ expectations. The mindfulness advocated by Dingdang Medicine—winning customers through professional service—aligns perfectly with SoftBank China’s philosophy of value investing. Therefore, we are highly committed to growing alongside Dingdang Medicine and achieving shared success.”

Zhou Liang, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Financing at China Renaissance, stated, “The internet-enabled healthcare industry holds immense business opportunities. Driven by new technologies, new business models, and fresh capital, emerging players represented by Dingdang Medicine are rising rapidly, profoundly influencing the industry’s development and competitive landscape. By delivering exceptional health services, the company continues to win consumer mindshare while creating sustained value for its shareholders, employees, and society. We remain bullish on Dingdang Medicine’s future prospects and are honored to participate as its long-term partner in the capital markets.”

VCBeat has previously conducted an in-depth analysis of the pharmaceutical O2O sector. For details:More Than Half of 30+ Platforms Have Folded: Pharmaceutical O2O Has Become a Capital Game—Where Is It Headed?