China will allow online sales of prescription drugs

China will allow online sales of prescription drugs as early as this month, a policy that will open up an over 1 trillion yuan ($161 billion) market to online pharmacy operators like Alibaba Group Holding.

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) is finalizing which prescription medicines to approve for sale, a senior healthcare policy adviser told Reuters.

"The policy will be released in January or February and the CFDA is actively working on it," said the adviser.