Number Of Retail Drugstores In Wuhan Decreases

Information from Wuhan's latest Food and Drug Administrative Meeting shows that the number of retail drugstores in Wuhan dropped for the first time, a decrease of 37 drugstores compared with the same period last year.

Prior to this, to avoid excessive competition in Wuhan's retail drugstore industry, the local government promulgated an order which said that the distance between two drugstores should not be less than 100 meters. In addition, it raised the threshold for retail drugstores by setting new standards for the abilities of drugstore employees, the storage area of drugstores, and the computer configuration at drugstores.

A representative from Wuhan's Food and Drug Administration said that with the regulating efforts of relevant departments and the self-regulation of the market, the number of retail drugstore in Wuhan's central districts had been reduced by a certain degree.

Starting from December 1, 2008, Wuhan Food and Drug Administration implemented a ruling on the rational distribution of retail drugstores in the city, which says if two retail drugstores have been opened within an area of radius 500 meters, no new drugstores would be allowed to open in this area. At the same time, if a new drugstore can meet the standard for separation, it should also meet one of the following conditions: either the owner of the drugstore is a licensed pharmacist or the all existing retail drugstores of the company have to have passed GSP certification.