China launches war on Alzheimer’s that may affect 10% of population by 2050

China has launched a comprehensive national campaign against Alzheimer’s, as projections warn the degenerative brain disease could affect nearly 10 per cent of citizens by 2050.With the world’s fastest-growing dementia caseload set to sharply grow by mid-century, China is mobilising top scientific institutions, major biotech firms and dozens of experts to accelerate the development of original treatments.This urgent initiative aims to avert a looming public health and economic crisis, driven by the limited availability and high cost of current therapies.On March 20, four Chinese technology innovation companies, three academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the heads of two research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences gathered at the Beijing Institute of Process Engineering.They were there for the launch of a national project to “develop new biological drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease”, according to the institute’s website.China has the world’s fastest-growing number of dementia cases, with the number of diagnosed Alzheimer’s cases increasing threefold over the past three decades.