A traditional Chinese medicine for stroke patients will undergo a Western-style clinical trial in hospitals in Singapore and the Philippines next month, the developers said on Thursday. NeuroAid is made in China and marketed by Singapore-based pharmaceutical company Moleac.
The trial is being carried out by a non-profit group of doctors from Asia, Australia and Europe.
It will also target patients in Thailand and possibly Hong Kong.
The two-year study will be funded by a grant from the National Medical Research Centre and include 1,100 patients.
Made from 14 Chinese herbs, NeuroAid is available in Singapore as a "Chinese proprietary medicine." It has been labelled a food supplement in the South-East Asian region.
If NeuroAid delivers on claims that it helps stroke patients recover movement and thinking abilities, the developers want Western-trained doctors to use the herbal drug as part of mainstream treatment.
"To get more Western-trained doctors to prescribe it, we need clinical trials with Western-trained doctors in a Western clinical environment," said David Picard, Moleac's chief executive.
