China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd., the largest drugstore chain in China, has said that it has signed strategic cooperation agreements with 16 pre-eminent domestic and multinational suppliers of pharmaceutical and healthcare products for 2008.
These agreements were signed at an event to celebrate the initial public offering of the Company on the New York Stock Exchange attended by representatives from more than 300 manufacturers and wholesalers on December 14, 2007.
The cooperation agreements were entered into with each of Tianjin Smith Kline & French Laboratories Ltd., Bayer Healthcare Company Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company, Boehringer Ingelheim Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., Hunan Taier Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Taiji Group, Shandong DONG-E E-JIAO Co. Ltd., and Kunming Dihon Medical Co., Ltd., as well as seven other suppliers of pharmaceutical and healthcare products. In addition to procuring merchandise from these suppliers, the Company will also partner with these suppliers to promote health education among Chinese consumers.
In addition, a number of leading Chinese and multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Shandong DONG-E E-JIAO Co. Ltd., have agreed to establish exclusive manufacturing lines to manufacture certain products based on Nepstar's specifications and packaging requirements and to sell these products solely through Nepstar's network of drugstores.