111, Inc. (NASDAQ:YI) has expanded its existing partnership with Bayer Healthcare in China.
The original partnership was signed in September 2020 and involved collaborating on drug commercialization initiatives in China. Specifically, 111 and Bayer agreed to work towards the commercialization of innovative drugs and healthcare products for chronic disease management, as well as providing useful resources for patient education.
Currently, 111 is the only e-commerce company in China to have secured a direct sourcing partnership with Bayer.
The new agreement deepens this relationship, as 111 will also assist Bayer with commercialization through proprietary technology, including its SMART supply chain, big data, and cloud services.
Expanding the partnership still further, 111 will cover an increased number of innovative drugs for Bayer, as the two companies will work together to achieve greater penetration in the wider online and offline markets.
Also growing is the number of therapeutic areas that 111 covers for Bayer, which now will encompass diabetes, oncology, cardiovascular, cerebral and gynecology.
In addition, the two parties will leverage 111’s e-hospital capabilities to construct a disease management platform to create a digital “healthcare + medicine” service model for patients including doctor-patient communication, disease course management, and online and offline DTP delivery of medicines.
“By leveraging our respective strengths and expertise, the two companies will jointly explore more efficient healthcare delivery models, advancing the traditional healthcare system to the modern era of digital “healthcare + medicine” to provide people in China with high-quality products and convenient services, and to help build a ‘healthy China’,” 111’s co-founder and executive chairman, Dr. YU Gang, said in a statement.
Ms. LUO Xiaojie, SVP at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, said both companies have already developed a mutually cooperative relationship, and in many ways this agreement marks a new beginning.
“It will better enable both parties to give full play to their unique advantages in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, and the innovative digital service model will create value for the pharmaceutical industry and benefit more Chinese patients,” she added.
