Alibaba Health and Sinopharm Launch Non-Profit Public Medicine Search Platform

On January 13, Alibaba Health and Sinopharm Health Online Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sinopharm Online”) jointly announced the free public launch of their medication search platform. This initiative aims to help patients and their families locate scarce medications through transparent and reliable channels, marking the establishment of the first non-profit public medication search platform.

Open the Ali Health app, tap “Medicine Search Platform” on the home page to access the main medicine search interface, enter the generic name of the scarce medication in the search bar, and information such as healthcare institutions across various regions that stock the medication and its dosage will be displayed. Users can also filter by their local area to obtain more precise, city-sorted detailed information about the desired medication.



There is another access point for the Public Medicine Search Platform. After logging into the Ali Health app, enter the generic name of the medication in the search bar on the homepage. If the search results from both nearby pharmacies and online pharmacies indicate that the medication is unavailable, a prompt recommending the “Ali Medicine Search” feature will appear. By clicking “Try Now,” you will be directed to the homepage of the “Medicine Search Platform.” Currently, this access point is already available on the Android version; due to release procedures, it will be launched on the iOS version in one week.



According to Liu Zhiqiang, the project lead for Sinopharm Online’s Medicine Search Platform, Sinopharm Holdings currently supplies medications to 75% of all hospitals in China, with coverage reaching as high as 94% among tertiary hospitals. The company also provides pharmaceutical supplies to more than 150,000 pharmaceutical distributors and retail pharmacies, thereby possessing comprehensive data on the distribution flow of the majority of medicines available on the market. Zhang Liang, Senior Product Director at Ali Health, stated that the Medicine Search Platform, jointly developed with Sinopharm Online, enables users to locate most medicines available on the market, basically meeting the medication search needs of patients and their families. He reminded users that the initial version of the platform requires entering the full generic name of the medicine in the search box, while future updates to the Ali Health app will support fuzzy search for medication names. If users are unable to find medication information within the system, they can call the customer service hotline displayed on the “Medicine Search Platform” page for further assistance.

The scarcity of certain medications in the market, often described as “hard-to-find drugs,” can be attributed to two possible reasons: first, drug production is constrained by factors such as raw material availability, resulting in limited output; second, information asymmetry in drug distribution prevents patients from effectively tracking drug availability. Addressing the first issue requires analyzing user search records and coordinating with relevant manufacturers, a process that is often lengthy. In contrast, medication-finding services can immediately alleviate the scarcity caused by the second factor. Therefore, AliHealth partnered with Sinopharm Online, which boasts abundant information resources, to develop a medication-finding platform.

Zhang Liang stated that through this collaboration between Ali Health and Sinopharm Online, Sinopharm Online will provide drug data information for the “Drug Search Platform” within the scope of policy permissions and information security, while Ali Health will provide technical platform support. Together, they aim to establish a convenient and rapid public welfare drug search system. Based on subsequent user feedback, they may consider launching a second phase featuring an online mutual-aid platform for drug-seeking users on Ali Health, enabling more concerned individuals to participate and providing patients in urgent need of life-saving medications with additional information channels.

Liu Zhiqiang revealed that the medications users typically search for on the drug-finding platform are not common drugs readily available at pharmacies, but rather consist mainly of hospital-prescribed medicines, scarce drugs, imported drugs, and orphan drugs. Sinopharm’s distribution services cover 94% of tertiary hospitals in China, precisely meeting users’ search needs. This drug-finding platform represents an initial attempt to address the difficulty of accessing medications. Future collaboration with Ali Health may further expand the scope of services, enabling users to make online reservations and register for appointments after locating available medications, along with providing corresponding medication consultation services.