醫藥電商的掘金路徑:瞄準處方藥品

China's e-commerce businesses are expanding into pharmaceuticals as the government directs prescription drug sales away from hospitals and into retail outlets.

隨着政府將處方藥銷售從醫院向零售渠道引導，我國電子商務正在向醫藥業擴張。

The online pharmacy business has grown from virtually nothing five years ago to more than 7 billion yuan (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2014, accounting for 3 percent of all retail medicine sales, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said in a report last Thursday.

波士頓諮詢公司上週四在一份報告中表示，我國醫藥電商的零售銷售額從5年前的幾乎爲零增長到2014年的70多億元（摺合11億美元），佔我國藥品零售市場總額的3%。

The boom may be only a prelude to explosive growth to come, provided that authorities allow online pharmacies to sell prescription drugs. Thus far, sales consist mainly of over-the-counter medicine, with very slim margins.

如果相關部門允許醫藥電商銷售處方藥，那麼上述增長可能只是拉開了醫藥電商爆發式增長的序幕。到目前爲止，銷售主要是非處方藥，利潤率非常低。

One of the key themes of the ongoing reform of the medical system is to wean hospitals off the revenue that comes from drug sales, allowing patients to choose between hospitals and retail pharmacies. If online sales of prescription drugs are permitted, firms such as Alibaba and are sure to get involved.

正在進行的醫療體制改革的主題之一就是減少醫院來自藥品銷售的收入，這樣可以使得病人在醫院和零售藥店之間能夠做出選擇。如果允許在網上銷售處方藥，那麼像阿里巴巴、京東等電商公司肯定會參與其中。

"The e-pharmacy business is changing very quickly in China with new regulations and different competitors entering the space," said John Wong, a BCG partner, but whether that pace continues is far from certain.

波士頓諮詢公司醫藥業合作夥伴黃培傑說：“隨着醫藥業新規頒佈、不同競爭者入行，中國醫藥電商將快速轉型。”不過他也表示，這種轉型能不能一直持續下去，現在仍是一個很大的未知數。