WeDoctor Forms Medical Supply Chain Firm In China

China-based WeDoctor is forming a new company to launch a supply chain and procurement solution for the nation’s medical industry, Global Banking and Finance reported Friday (July 13).

WeDoctor, which is preparing for an initial public offering next year, is working with idsMED Group to form idsMED WeDoctor China Ltd. The new entity will be the nation’s first smart medical supply chain and procurement solutions firm, the announcement said.

The new company also signed an agreement with the government of Changting County in Fujian Province to develop a medical devices platform in Ting Zhou, reports added. The company will look to deploy a solution that provides new procurement channels for the medical industry to buy medical devices and consumables. The solution will also facilitate license applications, technology transfers and other back-office functions, including investment and capital market coordination.

The joint venture will be majority-owned by WeDoctor; idsMED Group will own 49 percent.

“The healthcare sector in China is a flourishing market going through rapid change and unprecedented reform,” said WeDoctor chairman and CEO Jerry Liao. “This cooperation is an important initiative [for] WeDoctor to contribute [to] improving the supply chain efficiency of China’s medical service system.”

“This joint venture provides significant strategic value to the medical industry and immense socio-economic benefits to the people of China,” added idsMEDS Group CEO and founding partner Ben Chang. “WeDoctor is the perfect partner for us to develop and implement a smart, neutral online platform to provide a transparent, pen- and value-based procurement system. Together we have the unique opportunity to simplify and modernize the medical device and consumables disruption model in China and make healthcare even more affordable to the people on the Chinese mainland.”

WeDoctor counts Tencent and AIA Group as existing backers as it heads towards an IPO. Reports in Bloomberg earlier this month noted WeDoctor as an example of China’s flourishing healthcare technology market, which is seeing disruption from smaller rivals to big players like Amazon.