Fight against neurodegenerative diseases intensified

As China steps up efforts to adapt its healthcare system to better support an aging population, Swiss drugmaker Roche is expanding its neuroscience footprint in the country.

The company is confident that advances in diagnosis and targeted therapies can reshape treatment for neurological disorders long considered among medicine's toughest challenges.

The World Health Organization has projected that neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, could surpass cancer-related deaths to become the world's second-leading cause of death by 2040. In China alone, nearly 17 million people were living with Alzheimer's and related dementias in 2021, according to the China Alzheimer Report 2025. Separately, the China Parkinson's Disease Report 2025 estimated that the country had more than 5 million Parkinson's patients in 2021, accounting for more than 43 percent of the worldwide patient population.