111 Inc. Hosts 2019 Online Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Summit

Publisher: The Insight Partners

111, Inc. (NASDAQ: YI) ("111" or the "Company"), a leading integrated online and offline healthcare platform, convened the China Online Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Summit 2019 (the "Summit") together with its annual general suppliers' meeting in Shanghai on December 11. The event, themed, "Technology Empowerment and Mutually Beneficial Cooperation", focused on the implications for the industry as China scales up its centralized drug procurement policy from the initial "4+7" pilot cities (the "4+7" Policy) expanding to more provinces and regions, as well as ways to empower the pharmaceutical industry with Internet technology in both R&D and distribution.

During the Summit, 111 unveiled its latest T2B2C strategy, an omni-channel e-commerce platform, and program to help pharmaceutical companies better cope with China's expanded "4+7" Policy to mitigate the impact of lower drug prices mandated by the policy, and to roll out a consumer-focused brand-name drug benefit plan.

The Summit attracted 600 participants from China and abroad, including executives from leading pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical retailers, investment firms and healthcare industry associations, and senior government officials. The Summit recorded the highest attendance by senior management of any healthcare event in China since the expansion of the "4+7" Policy beyond the original eleven pilot cities, and delivered in-depth discussion of issues such as the impact of the "4+7" Policy, and Internet-powered drug companies, among others.

111.com unwraps new omni-channel e-commerce platform to target post "4+7" Policy market

During their keynote speeches, Dr. Gang Yu, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of 111, and Mr. Junling Liu, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of 111 announced the company's new omni-channel e-commerce platform strategy for drug retail and distribution. Dr. Gang Yu said China's expansion of its pilot program of drug procurement for public hospitals to more provinces and regions across the country in 2019 is a key part of revolutionary reforms to the healthcare sector. 111 will continue to leverage its innovative business model and technological expertise to become the omni-channel partner of choice for pharmaceutical manufacturers and the "go-to" healthcare and medical services platform for patients across the country.

111 has comprehensively upgraded its T2B2C strategy one year after its debut, adding  the new "Hawkeye" system to improve the efficiency of 111's sales force as well as a life-cycle patient management system with CRM (customer relationship management) and a full range of patient management functions, in addition to empowering pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, patients and insurance companies. The system uses precision marketing content to enhance patient stickiness and refill and medication adherence rates for prescribed drugs.

As the "4+7" Policy is rolled out, the market is expected to be dominated by innovative drugs in the future. In line with this trend, 111 also announced a new omni-channel e-commerce platform strategy to help pharmaceutical companies commercialize innovative drugs. By leveraging its own integrated online-offline healthcare platform, 111 will help pharmaceutical manufacturers expand coverage to include more pharmacies, clinics, private hospitals, and community hospitals outside tier 1 and 2 cities' major hospitals and large drug store chains, as well as hospitals and patients in tier 3-6 cities, and provide complementary, value-added services to pharmaceutical manufacturers. The new suite of services includes Shizhen, a first-of-its-kind decentralized educational platform for medical representatives to provide content aimed at educating users about drugs. 111 has already successfully recruited 1,000 medical representatives for the platform.

In addition, 111 rolled out a brand-name drug benefit plan aimed at empowering patients, improving medication adherence rates and promoting brand-name drugs to a wider market through the systemization of physician consultation, on-line refill and medication guidance and pharmacist services.