(Yicai) Dec. 13 -- Cai Lei, former vice president of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.Com who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, said that research he supports and takes part in has made a breakthrough discovery about the cause of the disease.

The study made the important advance through the analysis of a large genetic data set, Cai, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2019, said in a video released at the Shenzhen Biomedical Industry Week yesterday. Although ALS has not yet been conquered, there is hope, he noted. Cai gave no other details. 

ALS, previously known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. As the disease progresses, motor neurons which control voluntary muscle movements gradually degenerate and die, leading to a loss of muscle control and function. The specific cause of ALS is not well understood.

Cai has been an active supporter of ALS research since his diagnosis. Using the managerial skills he developed over years of working in retail, e-commerce, and supply chain, he built a livestreaming e-commerce platform that generates funding for scientific research.

A public welfare fund and a charitable trust with investment of nearly CNY20 million (USD2.8 million) has been set up, Cai said.

Four years after his diagnosis, Cai formed a team that has built the world’s largest patient-centered, full-life-cycle scientific research data platform for the disease, linking over 10,000 patients. By advocating for voluntary body donations and working with 1,000 people with ALS, the team has overcome the lack of pathological samples. More than 10 donations have been made so far.

Cai’s team has also joined hands with a third party to create the induced pluripotent stem cell-based rapid drug screening platform and promoted more than 100 ALS drug pipelines, accelerating clinical research on ALS treatments.

Editor: Martin Kadiev