China Gives Conditional OK to Its First Self-Developed Alzheimer's Drug

China has given conditional approval to Oligomannate, its first self-developed treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD), reports Reuters . The country's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) last week granted the conditional OK to use the drug, which employs extract from marine brown algae to treat mild-to-moderate level AD. "Trial results demonstrated that Oligomannate statistically improved cognitive function in mild-to-moderate AD sufferers as early as week four and the benefit was sustained at each follow-up assessment visit," stated drug co-developer Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceuticals. China is expediting approval for innovative drugs at home in order to offer more and less expensive options to consumers, as many older adults in the nation struggle to find alternatives to costly treatments sold by multinational drug manufacturers for chronic diseases. China's government announced in August that conditional approval could be granted to some still-under-researched medications of "predictable" clinical value for life-threatening ailments for which effective treatment is not immediately available. The NMPA admitted that further research on Oligomannate's pharmacological mechanism and long-term safety and efficacy is necessary, while Green Valley said the drug's launch in China will happen "very soon."