Alibaba Health IPO Prospectus: A Comprehensive Blueprint of Alibaba's Internet Healthcare Ecosystem

As one of the “BAT” tech giants, Alibaba, driven by Jack Ma’s grand vision, began secretly strategizing its moves in mobile healthcare at an early stage. Alibaba fundamentally aims to disrupt the existing healthcare model. From building “Future Hospitals” to vigorously promoting the socialization of electronic prescriptions and forcing the separation of prescribing from dispensing, each move directly targets the pain points of the legacy system. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, there is no doubt that Alibaba’s bold initiatives have set off a wave of healthcare reform in China and will be recorded in history as a landmark milestone.



Pharmaceutical E-commerce O2O

Tmall Mall launched its Pharmacy Pavilion on June 20, 2011, but was ordered by the Zhejiang Provincial Food and Drug Administration in July to rectify its operations, requiring it to sever links between Tmall’s medical and health channel and unapproved online pharmacies. Following regulatory interviews, Taobao Mall did not reopen until February 28, 2012, relaunching as the Tmall Pharmacy Pavilion.

On November 12, 2013, the China Food and Drug Administration granted pilot program status to the 95095 Pharmaceutical Platform operated by Hebei Huiyan Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “95095”), whose majority shareholder is CITIC Group.

In late February 2014, Alipay Wallet partnered with Neptune Star, the largest pharmacy chain in China. In April, a collaboration was established with Guoda Drugstore. Neptune Star is currently the cross-regional pharmacy chain with the highest number of directly operated stores in China, boasting over 2,000 outlets nationwide. By the end of May, Alipay had reached agreements with more than 20 pharmacy chain brands, enabling Alipay Wallet payments at over 10,000 pharmacy locations, thereby achieving near-nationwide coverage across China.

As of April 2014, Alipay had established O2O collaborations with more than 20 leading domestic pharmacy chains, including Neptune Star, Guoda Drugstore, Beijing Zhonglian Pharmacy, Jiangsu Hengtai Pharmacy, Chongqing Heping Pharmacy, Gansu Deshengtang Pharmacy, Hebei Xinxing Pharmacy, Shandong Shuyu Pingmin Pharmacy, Yunnan Jianzhijia Pharmacy, Guangdong Dashenlin Pharmacy, Shanghai Huashi Pharmacy, and Chongqing Tongjungge Pharmacy.

In May 2014, the China Food and Drug Administration released the “Administrative Measures for the Supervision and Management of Online Food and Drug Operations (Draft for Comment),” proposing to lift the ban on online sales of prescription drugs and allowing third-party logistics providers to distribute pharmaceuticals.

In June 2014, Alibaba and the Hebei Provincial People's Government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement to build "Cloud-Based Hebei," with "Intelligent Drug Supervision" being a key component. The "Ali Health" app is also part of the information management system for "Intelligent Drug Supervision."

On July 10, 2014, Alibaba’s “Scan to Buy” platform added a sixth application—“Healthcare Code”—to its existing suite of “Product Code,” “Service Code,” “Scan-to-Store,” “Interaction Code,” and “Media Code.” By simply scanning the medicine box, users can verify the authenticity of pharmaceutical products. Leveraging data from CITIC 21CN, Alibaba also launched its “Drug Safety Initiative.” Using the Mobile Taobao or Alipay Wallet apps, consumers can scan the barcode or drug supervision code on any pharmaceutical package available in the Chinese market to obtain information on product authenticity, usage instructions, contraindications, production batch numbers, and distribution history. One of the clear objectives behind introducing this drug-scanning service is to pave the way for the e-commerce transformation of the pharmaceutical industry.

On December 3, 2014, Alibaba Health’s “E-Prescription Platform” entered into a strategic partnership with Jintian Pharmaceutical Group. On December 15, Jintian Pharmaceutical Group will take the lead in implementing “e-prescriptions” across the three northeastern provinces of China. Local consumers can upload prescriptions via the platform, await quotes from partner pharmacies, make their selection, and complete the transaction. The chosen pharmacy will then deliver the medications to the customer’s door following payment. By leveraging this innovative e-commerce model for pharmaceuticals based on e-prescriptions, the initiative aims to build a future-oriented comprehensive health platform and provide a convenient green channel for healthcare services.

As of January 28, 2015, the app has been launched across 28 provinces and municipalities in China, accumulating 1 million registered users. It has partnered with 194 pharmacy chains, covering more than 30,000 stores. Amidst the wave of collaborations between chain pharmacies and Ali Health, Xinxing Pharmacy was the first mover. Xinxing Pharmacy officially partnered with Ali Health in September 2014 and commenced trial operations on October 30.

In February 2015, Ali Health’s pharmaceutical O2O business swiftly and quietly expanded into 29 provinces and municipalities, covering more than 40,000 pharmacies.

On March 11, 2015, the press conference for the strategic cooperation between Huairen Pharmacy and Ali Health, as well as the launch of the “Ali Health” app in Hunan Province, was grandly held at the conference room of Huairen Health Industry Group.

On March 31, 2015, Kuaidi’s Yihao Zhuanche officially partnered with AliHealth. AliHealth will provide exclusive onboard first-aid kits for Yihao Zhuanche vehicles. Passengers using Yihao Zhuanche can freely use all medications in the kit if needed. Currently, the “first-aid kit” service has been launched in Beijing, and Yihao Zhuanche vehicles in other cities will be equipped with these kits in the future.

According to the “12th Five-Year Plan” for National Drug Safety, China will achieve full-process electronic supervision of all drug varieties by the end of 2015. Chinese securities firms once viewed this as a policy benefit for CITIC 21st Century. PIATS is China’s only drug product regulatory system. The full English name of PIATS is Product Identification Authentication and Tracking System.
The key to the operation of this system is the unique 20-digit electronic supervision code assigned to each pharmaceutical product (see figure below). Printed on the outer packaging by manufacturers, this code is recorded by distributors and retailers upon inventory intake. Consumers can verify the code on the “China Drug Electronic Supervision Network”; multiple queries of the same code indicate a potential risk of counterfeit products.



Alibaba Health Notes

On August 28, 2013, Ali Health (formerly CITIC 21st Century) obtained the license, becoming the only company among the ten approved by the China Food and Drug Administration to operate a third-party trading platform with B2B2C capabilities.

On March 17, 2015, the official Weibo account of @AliHealth announced the formal launch of the AliHealth website, providing the URL www.alijk.com. The accompanying image featured screenshots of four major sections: “AliHealth Cloud Hospital Platform,” “AliHealth Mobile App,” “AliHealth Cloud Platform,” and “Electronic Supervision Platform.” These sections encompassed the entire ecosystem involving consumers, medical institutions, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies, thereby substantiating many expectations surrounding AliHealth. (Sections have since been updated.)



On August 15, 2014, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders was held, at which all votes were cast in favor of changing the Company’s name from “CITIC 21CN Company Limited” to “Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited,” with the Chinese name “阿里健康信息技术有限公司.”

On October 21, 2014, CITIC 21st Century issued an announcement, officially changing its name to “Alibaba Health,” along with its stock abbreviation and corporate website.

On November 20, 2014, at the inaugural World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group’s Board of Directors, made a bold statement: “In the future, Alibaba aims to focus on two sectors—health and happiness. How can we make people healthier and happier? The answer is not by building more hospitals or hiring more doctors, nor by constructing more pharmaceutical factories. Rather, if we (through our investments) get it right, then in 30 years’ time, doctors will struggle to find jobs, hospitals will become fewer in number, and pharmaceutical factories will significantly decline. This would indicate that we have succeeded.”

January 13, 2015 – Alibaba Health announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with Oracle Hong Kong and Oracle Beijing regarding their disputes and legal proceedings. Alibaba Health paid Oracle approximately RMB 37.2 million in settlement funds. Additionally, Alibaba Health has migrated its drug regulatory network infrastructure from Oracle’s database to the Alibaba Cloud platform, and there will be no further financial interests between Alibaba Health and Oracle going forward. Formerly known as CITIC 21st Century, the company signed an $11 million contract with Oracle in 2006 for the latter’s database services. However, tensions arose during the course of their collaboration. In 2013, CITIC 21st Century migrated its data services to Alibaba Cloud and decided to part ways with Oracle, leading to the current settlement.

On April 17, 2015, Alibaba Health’s board of directors announced that Wu Yongming, one of the 18 founders of Alibaba Group and an Alibaba Partner, would serve as Chairman of the Board and Non-Executive Director of Alibaba Health, while Wang Lei would assume the role of new CEO and Executive Director of Alibaba Health.

Ali Health App Client

On November 4, 2014, Alibaba Group’s healthcare app, “Ali Health,” launched its trial operation, with Shijiazhuang as the first pilot city. In Shijiazhuang, it introduced a subsidy policy offering discounts of RMB 20, 10, or 5 for medicine purchases exceeding RMB 30. Conservatively estimated, Alibaba’s investment in subsidies for the pilot city alone exceeded RMB 200 million. The service was subsequently rolled out in Hangzhou and expanded within one month to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Yunnan, and other regions. By entering the hospital electronic prescription process for the first time and venturing into the pharmaceutical e-commerce sector, Alibaba aimed to pressure the separation of prescribing from dispensing, thereby igniting a new model for healthcare reform in China.

On November 24, 2014, the Ali Health app officially entered public beta testing, with Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, selected as the pilot site. This city is home to Hebei Huiyan Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., which operates the 95095 pharmaceutical platform. The app enables users to upload photos of prescriptions issued by physicians. Social pharmacies then respond to these electronic prescriptions through the app via a market-bidding mechanism. Patients can select merchants for drug supply and delivery based on factors such as price, service quality, and brand reputation.

On December 9, 2014, the Ali Health app business was officially launched in its hometown of Hangzhou.

On December 11, 2014, the Ali Health app was officially launched in Chongqing.

On February 10, 2015, a press conference was held in Nanning to announce the strategic partnership between Guangxi Kangquan Pharmaceutical and Ali Health, as well as the launch of the “Ali Health” app in Guangxi. When purchasing medications at Kangquan pharmacies, residents of Nanning can simply scan the Ali Health QR code, enter the details of the desired medicines, and confirm the purchase. At checkout, medications valued at 30 yuan can be purchased for just 20 yuan.

On March 1, 2015, Ali Health launched version 2.0 of its mobile app and simultaneously inaugurated the Ali Health Cloud Hospital Platform. The new version introduced features such as drug safety verification, online consultations with renowned physicians, appointment registration and additional slot booking, and electronic prescriptions. Notably, Ali Health integrated resources from the “Ask a Doctor” channel on Sina Weibo, leveraging influential key opinion leaders (KOLs) to create its own “Ask a Doctor” platform. This enables users to describe their symptoms to physicians via text and images from home and receive further medical guidance. By offering services such as appointment scheduling, the platform matches users with specialists, facilitating comprehensive 360-degree daily health management. Additionally, Ali Health partnered with “Juyi 160” (an appointment registration website) to provide appointment booking services, further enhancing the platform’s medical consultation capabilities.

Alibaba Health Cloud Hospital Platform

On October 26, 2014, the Health Department of Hebei Province issued a document in the name of its Planning and Information Division, designating five hospitals as pilots for electronic prescriptions, with the aim of testing the “socialization of prescriptions.”

In December 2014, Ali Health’s electronic prescription platform was piloted at the Beijing Military Region General Hospital. The pilot initially focused on two chronic conditions—hypertension and hyperlipidemia—and targeted only self-pay patients, thereby circumventing the more complex issue of medical insurance reimbursement. This marked the first instance in China of a hospital implementing the socialization of electronic prescriptions. By accessing the Ali Health app and clicking on “My Prescriptions,” users encounter the “Hospital Certification” option. Currently, only the Beijing Military Region General Hospital is available on the platform. Patients can synchronize their electronic prescriptions from the hospital by entering their medical card or social security card number, enabling them to request price quotes and make purchases on the platform. Additionally, to support the advancement of Alibaba’s project, the Beijing Military Region General Hospital committed to allowing Alibaba to promote the electronic prescription platform to patients at the entrances of its clinical departments.

In February 2015, leveraging its robust cloud and data technologies, Alibaba Health partnered with Beijing Yangming Clinic on its Cloud Hospital Platform. As the platform’s first selected partner, Beijing Yangming Clinic was provided with a free Hospital Information System (HIS), a move critical to Alibaba Health’s Cloud Hospital Platform strategy. This public service initiative aims to break down information silos among medical institutions and facilitate the circulation of electronic prescriptions. Once a sufficient number of medical institutions join the platform, Alibaba Health’s Cloud Hospital Platform is poised for comprehensive, explosive growth.

On March 23, 2015, Ali Health entered into a strategic partnership with the Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, the largest public maternal and pediatric medical institution in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta region. The hospital has been integrated into Ali Health’s Cloud Hospital Platform, specifically its Cloud HIS system. This move marks another step forward in Ali Health’s comprehensive promotion of electronic prescriptions, following its strategic collaboration with the Beijing General Hospital of the Beijing Military Region. Similar to the cooperation model with the Beijing General Hospital, the newly partnered hospitals will soon implement electronic prescriptions (socialized drug supply).

On March 24, 2015, Ali Health announced that it had extended cooperation invitations to 180,000 medical clinics across China, aiming to build Ali Health’s hospital cloud platform. Additionally, in line with Ali Health’s vision, the company seeks to create additional entry points to facilitate physicians’ multi-site practice.

On April 1, 2015, Alibaba Health’s Cloud Hospital was officially launched. The platform, named “Yi Die Gu,” is positioned as “an online platform that integrates resources across the entire healthcare system and value chain to provide comprehensive medical services.” Through collaborations with healthcare institutions, it enables the digital transmission of electronic prescriptions. When patients visit partner facilities, their electronic prescriptions are automatically synced to their Alibaba Health APP, allowing them to place orders at nearby pharmacies simply by opening the app.

Alibaba Health Cloud

In September 2009, Alibaba Group announced the establishment of its subsidiary “Alibaba Cloud” at its 10th-anniversary celebration. The company would focus on research and development in the field of cloud computing. “Alibaba Cloud” became the eighth subsidiary of Alibaba Group, following Alibaba.com, Taobao, Alipay, Alibaba Software, and China Yahoo. Founded and invested by Alibaba Group, it has established R&D centers and operational offices in Hangzhou, Beijing, Silicon Valley, and other locations. Alibaba Cloud aims to build the leading platform for internet data sharing and become an advanced, data-centric cloud computing service provider. By the end of 2013, Alibaba Cloud was planning to enter the overseas cloud services market. According to the plan, Alibaba Cloud would establish cloud data centers abroad to provide cloud computing capabilities to Chinese enterprises deploying overseas operations as well as local foreign enterprises. In February 2014, Alibaba Cloud defeated foreign vendors such as IBM and Oracle, forming an alliance with Neusoft Group, China’s largest IT service provider. In the healthcare sector, its clients include AliHealth, Weiyi.com, Weizhen, and Daily Yoga.

On October 14, 2014, Alibaba held a pharmaceutical data conference in Hangzhou themed “Transformation and Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Industry in the Era of Big Data,” where it launched the “AliHealth Cloud Platform—Data Services” and its corresponding big data strategy for the pharmaceutical industry.

On October 14, 2014, Shanghai Health Bao Company announced the launch of the “Cloud Health” initiative, leveraging the Alibaba Cloud computing platform to create a comprehensive home healthcare solution. This system enables the health status of all family members to be connected online and provides immediate access to professional health data analysis.

On January 13, 2015, Alibaba Health and Baiyunshan signed a framework agreement. The agreement stipulated that in the area of pharmaceutical e-commerce, both parties would jointly explore and develop an “online-to-offline” (O2O) marketing model for pharmaceuticals. Regarding big health products, Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical’s existing health products would be integrated with Alibaba Health’s platform, and new businesses and operational models would be jointly developed based on Alibaba Health’s big health data. Furthermore, the two parties agreed to jointly develop the “Future Hospital” initiative and promote the socialized circulation of hospital prescriptions.

Medical Insurance

On March 24, 2014, Haihong Holdings, a concept stock associated with medical insurance cost containment, announced that it had signed a framework agreement for business cooperation with Alipay (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd., establishing a strategic partnership in the field of Medical Benefit Management (MBM). MBM is a third-party service specializing in the professional management of medical expenses, serving as a managerial and coordinating entity among insurance institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, healthcare providers, and patients. Haihong Holdings has developed an intelligent management platform for medical insurance funds and a medical quality control and service system. The two parties initially selected Hangzhou and Guangzhou as pilot cities. The cooperation encompasses: reengineering healthcare service processes to improve patient experience; constructing a personal medical expense payment system; and providing professional financial management services in the health sector.

On April 10, 2015, Alibaba Health announced that its Cloud Hospital platform had officially partnered with CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance, marking the first case in China of an internet company collaborating with a commercial insurance provider. When consumers holding CITIC-Prudential commercial insurance policies purchase medications through the Alibaba Health App or receive medical services at healthcare institutions on the Cloud Hospital platform, their Alibaba Health accounts are linked to CITIC-Prudential’s funding pool and claims adjudication rules database via the backend system. This integration enables automatic settlement of insurance-covered expenses at the point of purchase or service, eliminating the need for consumers to manually submit reimbursement forms and for insurers to conduct manual claims reviews.

Alipay and the Future Hospital

On May 28, 2014, Alipay Wallet officially announced the launch of its “Future Hospital” initiative. Under this plan, Alipay Wallet will open up its platform capabilities to medical institutions in the future, including its account system, mobile platform, payment and financial solutions, cloud computing capabilities, and big data platform, with the aim of helping hospitals become more efficient in the mobile internet era. Alipay will also provide technical support such as free Wi-Fi services and indoor navigation within hospitals, guiding users to locations for consultation, examinations, payment, and medication pickup. It is reported that this will be a long-term plan spanning 5 to 10 years.


On June 25, 2014, Alipay announced a partnership with Chinasoft International to jointly expand mobile payment services in the pharmaceutical industry. Through this collaboration, the Alipay Wallet is set to integrate with hundreds of thousands of pharmacies across China, providing users with mobile payment solutions for purchasing medications.

On July 10, 2014, Alibaba announced that its Alipay’s “Mobile Smart Healthcare” service would officially integrate with the national medical insurance system. Henceforth, patients covered by medical insurance can use the Alipay Wallet to pay for consultations and treatments at pilot “Future Hospitals” promoted by Alibaba, enabling automatic deduction of both the insurance-covered and out-of-pocket portions.

On August 22, 2014, three months after its launch, Alipay’s “Future Hospital” initiative officially debuted in Beijing. The partnership between Beijing Friendship Hospital and Alipay was formally announced to the public.

As of September 2014, the “Future Hospital” initiative has been launched in 10 hospitals, nine of which are Grade A tertiary hospitals. According to a spokesperson for Alipay, nearly 50 Grade A tertiary hospitals across major cities in China have reached preliminary cooperation agreements with Alipay. “In the future, there will be an increasing number of ‘Future Hospitals,’ transforming our traditional approaches to appointment scheduling, payment, and medical consultations.”

On November 19, 2014, Alipay and Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Hospital will implement the first card-free medical insurance payment.

On December 3, 2014, Fujian Provincial Hospital officially joined the Service Window platform of Alipay Wallet and became part of the “Future Hospital” initiative, marking it as the first Alipay “Future Hospital” in Fujian Province.

On January 5, 2015, after The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University announced its official participation in Alipay’s “Future Hospital” initiative, the number of “Future Hospitals” nationwide reached 37, covering 25 provinces and municipalities. Regarding the medical insurance settlement issue, which has drawn significant attention from the industry, real-time settlement has already been implemented in some “Future Hospitals.” For instance, the newly joined The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University has enabled comprehensive functionalities, including mobile appointment registration, in-clinic payment, report retrieval, department navigation, service evaluation, real-time medical insurance settlement, and inpatient payment, making it the most fully featured “Future Hospital” to date. It is expected that more than 100 “Future Hospitals” will go online in 2015.

As of January 5, 2015, Alipay’s “Future Hospital” initiative had been launched in 25 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Kunming, and Wuhan, with a total of 37 hospitals across China onboarded onto the platform. Market forecasts predict that more than 100 hospitals will join the “Future Hospital” program in 2015. Industry insiders believe that Alipay faces resistance in entering large-scale hospitals to provide payment services, as China UnionPay also aims to capture this segment, making progress challenging.

News from January 13, 2015: Two hospitals in Wenzhou, including the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, have joined the “Future Hospital” initiative. By adding the relevant hospital service windows to their Alipay wallet and linking their medical card numbers, users can register for appointments, make payments, retrieve test reports, and engage in doctor-patient interactions through these service windows. Some hospitals have already enabled direct settlement via medical insurance.

On April 20, 2015, Alibaba Cloud partnered with Donghua Software to co-establish the “Cloud Hospital” with Xi’an International Medical Center. This institution is China’s first physical healthcare provider to leverage data-driven precision medicine and health management, with over 90% of its backend information systems deployed on Alibaba Cloud. Recently, Hangzhou Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital also integrated with the Alibaba Cloud platform during its informatization upgrade; however, the Xi’an hospital was built from the ground up based on cloud platform architecture.

On May 10, 2015, Jack Ma set his sights on Fujian’s healthcare industry, aiming to build a “Future Hospital.” Yesterday, the People’s Government of Fujian Province and Alibaba Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Fuzhou, under which both parties will collaborate across numerous fields of “Internet Plus.”

On May 15, 2015, Chinese startup Face++ completed a $25 million Series B financing round. The facial recognition technology developed by Face++ has been adopted by Alibaba. One of the company’s most prominent clients is Ant Financial. As the developer of Alipay, Ant Financial is seeking regulatory approval to leverage Face++’s software for verifying the identities of users opening online bank accounts. The company’s technology is also integrated into Alipay’s “Smile to Pay” service, which allows users to authorize payments using selfies.

Strategic Cooperation

On November 11, 2013, Chinasoft International Limited (“Chinasoft International”) announced that it had recently signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with CITIC 21st Century Co., Ltd. (“CITIC 21st Century”). Under the agreement, the two parties will engage in long-term strategic collaboration in the field of pharmaceutical information sharing. This marks another significant milestone for the company’s cloud strategy in the pharmaceutical cloud sector.

On January 22, 2015, China CITIC Bank and Alibaba Health signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing. China CITIC Bank stated that both parties would jointly build and promote an online-to-offline (O2O) pharmaceutical e-commerce platform, collaborate to explore partnerships in areas such as medical institutions and health insurance, and achieve sharing of big data on pharmaceutical information, medical resources, and customer resources.

On January 26, 2015, Ali Health disclosed a strategic partnership with Winning Health, a software enterprise specializing in healthcare application solutions. Shanghai Winning Health Software Co., Ltd. is primarily engaged in the research and development, sales, and technical services of healthcare application software, providing comprehensive information technology solutions for the healthcare industry, and has long been involved in the field of medical big data.
In terms of health services, both parties will jointly promote the formation of an integrated management and service model for chronic and common diseases, covering both in-hospital and out-of-hospital care. In terms of medical services, they will collaboratively build cloud hospitals characterized by physicians’ multi-site practice and effective hospital linkages. In terms of medical payment services, they will integrate payment platforms with Winning Health’s risk control engine to effectively enhance and expand the value and position of this system within the healthcare payment framework. In terms of pharmaceutical distribution and regulation, building upon Alibaba Health’s electronic drug supervision services, both parties will jointly explore the effective sharing and market application of electronic prescriptions.

On April 1, 2015, Alibaba Health Information Technology Co., Ltd. (“Alibaba Health”) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dian Diagnostics, a third-party testing laboratory. Independent third-party medical diagnostic service providers, whose core business is outsourcing specimen testing and diagnostic services, are known as the “hospital of hospitals.” The collaboration between the two parties focuses on two main areas: First, Dian Diagnostics’ flagship store will be integrated into Alibaba Health’s Cloud Hospital Platform, where both parties will engage in deep cooperation. Second, the two parties will leverage the Cloud Hospital Platform to implement an internet-based operational model for independent clinical laboratories, providing online and offline services to various stakeholders of the Cloud Hospital.

April 14, 2015 – It was reported recently that Tianjian Technology Group and Ali Health have signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. This strategic partnership stems from the high level of consensus between the two parties in the health services sector and the development of medical and pharmaceutical informatization. Both parties believe that establishing a long-term, strategic cooperative relationship will facilitate their expansion in the fields of health services and medical-pharmaceutical information services, help enhance their respective operational scope and efficiency, reduce operating costs, and support future market expansion.

On April 15, 2015, Alibaba Group announced that it had reached a definitive agreement with Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited, which is listed in Hong Kong. The agreement stipulates the transfer of operational rights for Tmall’s online pharmaceutical business to Alibaba Health. Upon completion of the major integration, Alibaba Health will become a subsidiary of Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group’s equity stake in Alibaba Health will increase to approximately 53% (and to approximately 54.6% if all convertible bonds are fully converted). Alibaba Health will become a subsidiary of Alibaba Group.

CR Wandon announced that its controlling shareholder, Yuyue Technology, jointly signed the "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" with Alibaba Health Information Technology Co., Ltd. on April 17, 2015. According to the agreement, Yuyue Technology will facilitate cooperation between Yuyue Medical (002223.SZ), Wandon Medical (600055.SH), and Yiyun Health with Alibaba Health in areas such as smart health hardware, medical imaging, and cloud hospital platforms. Under the agreement, CR Wandon’s flagship medical imaging store under Yuyue Technology will join the Alibaba Health Cloud Hospital Platform to explore an internet-based operational model for independent medical imaging institutions; CR Wandon will assist Alibaba Health in promoting its Cloud Hospital Platform to medical institutions; and CR Wandon will leverage its medical resources to provide medical image reading and analysis services to meet the needs of the Alibaba Health Cloud Hospital. It is reported that the agreement has a term of three years, from April 17, 2015, to April 16, 2018.

On April 24, 2015, Ali Health and Huakang Mobile Healthcare entered into a strategic partnership, integrating the latter’s platform resources for appointment scheduling and online physician consultations to provide its users with services such as remote medical consultations, health inquiries, and appointment booking.
On May 11, 2015, Alibaba Group and MSD China announced today that they have reached a strategic partnership. The two parties will jointly explore cooperation in a broad range of healthcare areas, including specialized medical warehousing, cloud-based data storage for chronic disease management, and health data analytics within the scope of cloud computing services. Medical warehousing and logistics are part of Cainiao Network’s nationwide logistics system under Alibaba. MSD, known as Merck in the United States and Canada, is a century-old multinational pharmaceutical company.

On May 13, 2015, Jack Ma and the Putian Municipal Government collaborated to jointly explore the healthcare system a decade into the future.

On May 14, 2015, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Baiyunshan Group reached a cooperation agreement with Jointown Pharmaceutical Group and Saibailan at the 4th China Pharmaceutical Conference held in Shanghai. The parties intend to establish a joint venture to jointly implement a pharmaceutical cloud commerce strategy for the mobile internet era. The first collaborative project will focus on “Baiyunshan Tiema,” a recently best-selling product of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Baiyunshan, leveraging internet-based marketing approaches such as cloud channels, cloud terminals, O2O (Online-to-Offline), and micro-entrepreneurship. The three parties plan to set up a joint venture to deploy their pharmaceutical cloud commerce initiatives.

Investment and Acquisition

In September 2011, XYWY.com secured tens of millions of RMB in Series A financing from Yunfeng Capital, a fund co-founded by Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, along with numerous other entrepreneurs and industry leaders. In April 2015, following Sina Aiwen Doctor and Huakang Panoramic, XYWY.com joined the Ali Health platform.

In February 2012, U Yi U Yao secured millions of yuan in Series A financing from the Alibaba-affiliated Sina Weibo Fund. According to data from IT Juzi, U Yi U Yao (formerly known as "Zhao Ni Ya") initially focused on an O2O application for nearby pharmacy services. In August 2014, it pivoted to provide blood glucose management and medical health services, launching products such as U Tang Doctor and U Medicine Box. Among these, U Tang is dedicated to post-discharge tracking applications for diabetic patients.

In December 2012, BGI announced that its subsidiary, BGI Tech, would divest a 42% equity stake to raise RMB 1.398 billion. The investment included RMB 400 million from China Everbright Limited, RMB 230 million from Yunfeng Capital, and RMB 200 million from Sequoia Capital. Shenzhen-based Shenzhen Capital Group invested only RMB 20 million.

In February 2013, Hangzhou Meihua Women’s and Children’s Hospital, located adjacent to the Zhejiang Provincial Women’s Hospital, officially commenced operations. In its “territorial expansion,” Meihua welcomed two institutional investors, IDG Capital and Yunfeng Fund, which provided the strongest capital support for Meihua’s next stage of development.

On January 23, 2014, Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital jointly acquired a 54.3% stake in CITIC 21st Century for a total of $170 million (RMB 1.037 billion), becoming the actual controller of the company. Among this, Alibaba Group held a 38% stake in CITIC 21st Century. Alibaba publicly stated that it would leverage CITIC 21st Century’s expertise in pharmaceutical electronic information, combined with Alibaba’s strengths in e-commerce platforms, cloud computing, and big data, to jointly advance the development of pharmaceutical informatization platforms, with additional complementary businesses to be injected at a later stage.

On January 13, 2015, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation letter of intent with Alibaba Health. Baiyunshan recently announced a private placement plan worth RMB 10 billion, with Yunfeng Capital, affiliated with Jack Ma, investing nearly RMB 500 million in cash to become the sole strategic investor outside the Guangzhou state-owned assets system. Meanwhile, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (GPHL) also announced that it had signed a strategic cooperation letter of intent with Alibaba Health, under which both parties will establish in-depth collaborative relationships in areas such as pharmaceutical e-commerce.

On April 15, 2015, Alibaba Health acquired assets from Ali JK Investment and Chen Wen Xin for HK$19.448 billion. The acquisition will be paid for through the issuance of shares and convertible bonds. The target businesses injected into Alibaba involve an online trading platform for product sales via an online pharmacy.

On April 28, 2015, Shenzhen Huakang Panoramic Information Technology Co., Ltd. secured RMB 200 million in Series B financing. The investment round was jointly completed by Yunfeng Capital, Cowin Capital, New Horizon Capital, and Hunan Haijie Medical Investment Co., Ltd. This marked the largest single financing deal in China’s mobile healthcare sector since 2015.



Company Profile:

Yunfeng Capital Management Co., Ltd. was established in April 2010 as China’s only private equity fund jointly founded by successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, and industry pioneers. Named after Jack Ma, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alibaba Group, and Yu Feng, founder of Focus Media (formerly known as Juzhong Media), the fund also counts more than ten other prominent entrepreneurs among its founders, including Shi Yuzhu, Chairman of Giant Network; Liu Yonghao, Chairman of New Hope Group; Shen Guojun, Chairman of Intime Investment; Wang Yusuo, Chairman of ENN Group; Jiang Nanchun, Chairman and CEO of Focus Media; Xu Hang, Chairman of Shenzhen Mindray Medical; Zhou Xin, Chairman of E-House China; Chen Yihong, Chairman of China Dongxiang; Wang Jianguo, founder of Five Star Appliance; Zhou Shaoxiong, founder of Septwolves; Wang Xuning, Chairman of Joyoung Co., Ltd.; and Zhang Youcai, President of Ufun Holdings. Headquartered in Shanghai, Yunfeng Capital has established branch offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Hangzhou, and other major cities across mainland China.

Sina Weibo Fund (Micro-Venture) is a venture capital fund jointly established by Sina and five major investment firms—Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, Innovation Works, Yunfeng Capital, and DFJ—to provide venture capital investments for third-party application developers focused on the Sina Weibo platform.

Founded in October 2001, AskDoctor.com is a comprehensive healthcare service platform under Century Wenkang (Beijing) Technology Development Co., Ltd., offering services such as health information, physician search, Q&A, and guided purchasing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

In July 2013, U Doctor U Medicine (formerly known as “Zhao Ni Ya”) was established. Initially, it focused on O2O applications for neighborhood pharmacy services, but later pivoted to blood glucose management and medical health services. Its products include U Sugar Doctor and U Medicine Box, among which U Sugar is dedicated to post-discharge tracking applications for diabetic patients. It is a product under Shanghai Youyi Network Technology Co., Ltd.

In April 2012, BGI Tech Solutions Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “BGI Tech”) was established. As a subsidiary of BGI, the company is committed to its mission of integrating intelligence and catalyzing technological innovation. It focuses on serving life science researchers and building a comprehensive industry-chain service network, striving to become the preferred partner for life science research institutions worldwide.

CITIC 21st Century is a company primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and value-added information services, product identification, authentication, and tracking systems, system integration, and software development. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it operates the third-party online pharmaceutical trading platform 95095.com. In October 2014, it was officially renamed Alibaba Health.

Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Group, established on September 1, 1997, is the largest production base for traditional Chinese medicine patent drugs in China. Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical”) is a joint venture of Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (the “Company”).

Huakang Panorama Network, established in June 2011, is an interactive internet platform dedicated to online and offline medical and health services. It operates under the jurisdiction of Shenzhen City and offers medical mobile applications such as “Doctor Appointment.”

 

After Alibaba finishes reviewing, you may revisit the VCBeat article that outlines Tencent’s internet healthcare strategy:Overview of Tencent's Internet Healthcare Layout。