context: Beijing is tightening rules for online drug sales. Plagued by safety and quality risks, the sector has been ill-supervised for a long time. With harsher penalties in place, the new regulation is one step forward to standardising the practice of online purchases of medicines and shoring up the capacity of the 'healthcare + internet' industry.
After public consultation, National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) released 'Management measures for online drug sales' on 1 Sep 2022. The Measures will take effect from 1 Dec 2022, stipulating
- qualifications and responsibilities of pharma firms involved in online drug sales
- must be offline pharma enterprises
- must have the capacity to ensure drug safety delivery
- must be authorised for drug marketing
- criteria for third-party platforms managing drugs sold online
- establish agencies to supervise drug safety
- be equipped with qualified pharmaceutical professionals
- tighten supervision of online pharma firms
- products banned for sales
- vaccines
- blood products
- narcotic drugs
- psychiatric medications
- radiologic drugs
- poisoning medications
- pharmaceutical precursor chemicals
- rules for online sales of prescription drugs
- patients and pharmacists must register real names
- supervision and inspection by relevant agencies
- NMPA in charge of national supervision of online drug sales
- application of digital tech in supervision
- platforms monitoring online drug sales at the provincial levels must keep pace with the platform at the national level
- legal responsibilities and penalties
- fines per violation may be as much as C¥200,000