On July 8, 2024, Dr. Wen Xiaoyan, Chairman of Zebra Pharmaceutical, and his team, along with Professor Lin Hanbin and Professor Zhao Guilong from Zhongke Zhongyan Yam Innovation Institute, had a remote communication with Cai Lei's research team to discuss the animal experiment promotion plan for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS) candidate compounds, as well as the use of TDP-43 zebrafish model to accelerate ALS drug development. They developed the next research and development plan.

Zebra Pharmaceutical and Cai Lei's research team had a video exchange.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ALS, medically known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is one of the top five terminal illnesses in the world. This is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that mainly damages the upper and lower motor neurons, as well as the trunk, limbs, and facial muscles they innervate. The cause of this disease is not yet clear. After onset, the body gradually loses strength and control, unable to speak, swallow, or breathe, ultimately leading to death.

In 2019, Cai Lei, then Vice President of JD.com, was diagnosed with ALS. Cai Lei did not wait pessimistically in the face of ALS. He claimed that he was not an "ordinary patient", but a "fighter" who would fight until the last moment. Cai Lei has repeatedly expressed his hope for neuroscience and neurological diseases, immunology, metabolomics, proteomics, genomics and transcriptomics, stem cells, acousto-optic electromagnetics CDMO、CRO、 Scientists, doctors, biopharmaceutical companies, and clinical hospitals focused on neurological disease research in fields such as artificial intelligence and traditional medicine can actively connect with their teams. He established the world's largest ALS research data platform, and also gathered top scholars, pharmaceutical companies, investors, and doctors to accelerate international ALS drug development.

△Dr. Wen Xiaoyan introduced the development process of the company's ALS drug.

Dr. Wen Xiaoyan said that he had been paying attention to Cai Lei's ALS research project for a long time. Their team was the first to establish a zebrafish model of ALS in Canada many years ago, and applied for tens of millions of yuan in research funding for drug screening and development of ALS and neurological diseases. They also screened a small molecule drug that can enhance the transmission function of neuromuscular systems. Its efficacy has been validated in Phase 2 clinical trials of patients and related papers have been published. He hopes to strengthen cooperation with Cai Lei's team in the next step, develop a new generation of drugs for treating ALS, enhance their safety and effectiveness, and jointly promote better clinical manifestations of scientific research results, striving to bring new hope to ALS patients as soon as possible.