HANGZHOU, China, June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CJJD)
("Jo-Jo Drugstores" or the "Company"), a leading online and offline
retailer and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and other
healthcare products and a healthcare provider in China, announced today that the Company has
entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement (the
"Agreement") with the Zhejiang Medical Insurance Bureau (the "MIB")
in June 2019. By entering into the
Agreement, the Company joins the first batch of third-party
distribution service partners of the government officially
undertaking the provincial medical insurance project. As a
designated delivery service agent for the provincial medical
insurance project, the Company expects to improve its negotiation
position for drug procurement, expand its retail pharmacy coverage,
and highlight its corporate brand and influence, providing a strong
foundation for the rapid expansion of the Company's franchising
operations.
In 2019, the State Council's government work report and the
provincial government's medical insurance policy added 12 common
chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes into the scope
of covered diseases and allows urban and rural residents to
purchase prescribed drugs for these diseases at pharmacies. This
policy requires cooperation between the government and private
enterprises and enables medical chain pharmacies to comprehensively
establish and operate third-party delivery service mechanisms for
drugs. Pursuant to the Agreement, both parties agree to fully cover
insured residents in Zhejiang
province, ensure a stable supply of medications and prompt drug
delivery. The MIB agrees to authorize the Company to operate as a
third-party distribution service partner to undertake the
provincial medical insurance project and assist the Company in
solving problems in distribution services to create an improved
business environment. The Company agrees to ensure its stores can
cover every county and city in the province, regularly publish a
list of commonly used drugs for chronic diseases and a list of
delivery service stores to the public, and strictly implement the
relevant systems for drug and prescription management in the
healthcare sector. As part of the Agreement, the Company agrees to
sell medical insurance-related chronic disease drugs which are on
the provincial medicine procurement platform, execute the same
payment standards as public hospitals and not all the drugs
purchased from the provincial medicine procurement platform to
enter other sales channels.
Mr. Wei Hu, Chief Operating
Officer of Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc., commented, "Currently, of the
1,304 urban and rural residents' medical insurance chronic disease
drug distribution service stores, we occupy 237, covering 89
counties and cities in Zhejiang
province, providing 195 chronic disease medicines. These facilities
essentially cover the drug distribution needs of chronic patients
and we are continuously working to improve access for the medicinal
treatment for chronic disease medicines for urban and rural
residents."
Mr. Hu continued, "In addition to the traditional selling
methods in our retail stores, we have four additional sales
channels: online booking, O2O booking, B2C booking, and shop
booking. By synchronizing with Meituan, Jingdong, Hungry, Ali
Health, micro-Mall and cooperating with five other platforms, we
can deliver drugs in half an hour for customers within 4
kilometers, and achieve distribution volumes similar to the top
chains in Hangzhou. We expect to
open a 24-hour unmanned smart drug store in Hangzhou to meet customers' needs."
About China Jo-Jo Drugstores,
Inc.
China Jo-Jo Drugstores, Inc.
("Jo-Jo Drugstores" or the "Company"), is a leading online and
offline retailer and wholesale distributor of pharmaceutical and
other healthcare products in China. Jo-Jo Drugstores currently operates
retail drugstores and an online pharmacy. It is also a wholesale
distributor of products similar to those carried in its pharmacies
and it cultivates herbs used for traditional Chinese medicine. For
more information about the Company, please visit
http://jiuzhou360.com. The Company routinely posts important
information on its website.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains information about the Company's
view of its future expectations, plans and prospects that
constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may
differ materially from historical results or those indicated by
these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of
factors including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties
associated with its ability to raise additional funding, its
ability to maintain and grow its business, variability of operating
results, its ability to maintain and enhance its brand, its
development and introduction of new products and services, the
successful integration of acquired companies, technologies and
assets into its portfolio of products and services, marketing and
other business development initiatives, competition in the
industry, general government regulation, economic conditions,
dependence on key personnel, the ability to attract, hire and
retain personnel who possess the technical skills and experience
necessary to meet the requirements of its clients, and its ability
to protect its intellectual property. The Company encourages
you to review other factors that may affect its future results in
the Company's annual reports and in its other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information, please contact:
Company Contact:
Frank Zhao
Chief Financial Officer
+86-571-88077108
frank.zhao@jojodrugstores.com
Steve Liu
Investor Relations Director
steve.liu@jojodrugstores.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Tina Xiao
Ascent Investor Relations LLC
+1-917-609-0333
tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-jo-jo-drugstores-enters-into-strategic-cooperation-framework-agreement-with-zhejiang-medical-insurance-bureau-300873003.html
SOURCE China Jo-Jo Drugstores,
Inc.