Japan's health ministry on Tuesday approved the production and sale of a new medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Japan, raising hopes among patients.
In a doctor-led clinical trial, the drug, mecobalamin, extended the survival period of patients within a year of the onset of ALS by over 500 days, surpassing existing drugs.
It is the third treatment in Japan for ALS, a severe neurological disease that gradually causes full-body muscle paralysis, with late-stage patients requiring respiratory support as they are unable to breathe on their own. It affects about 10,000 people in Japan.
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