Yitiao
Chinese e-commerce tycoon Cai Lei has terminal ALS
Former e-commerce executive, who has been close to death several times, says it is faith that sustains him in the most difficult times.
Former top manager in the e-commerce sector Leo Horseshas been close to dying several times. At 48 years old, he dedicates his days to researching new treatments for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
The Chinese businessman, former vice president of JD.com and who made a career in e-commerce, is now living with an advanced stage of this rare disease, and continues to work 12 hours a day to try to speed up the discovery of a cure.
According to , your health condition worsened recently. He can no longer move or speak and only communicates through an eye tracking system, which allows him to type on the computer with his eyes.
Cai’s assistant told the Chinese newspaper that the businessman has already survived several near-death episodes. In one of them, an accumulation of secretions blocked his throat and left him unable to breathe for about a minute.
Today, even the simplest movements require help constant. It takes four caregivers to lift him from a chair or lay him down. Muscle atrophy causes pain and numbness when sitting for long periods.
Still, Cai remains focused on developing drugs against , known by the acronym SHE (or ALS, in English). He works almost 12 hours a day and has already stated that only death will make him stop. “Even in the most difficult times, faith is the first thing that cannot failr”, he stated.
Currently, Cai presides over Beijing Aisikang Medical Technology and has donated more than 100 million yuan, around 13 million eurosresearch into the disease. She also created four support funds dedicated to ALS and worked with leading scientists and doctors to set up several laboratories.
Almost two centuries after the disease was identified for the first time, still there is no medicine capable of halting its progression.
Cai’s team created what they describe as the largest platform in the world of data for ALS research. According to those responsible, this database allowed the development of new medicines to be accelerated by 20 times.
The businessman is now involved in more than 300 programs of drug development. A treatment targeting a mutation in a single gene would have helped save several patients, but not suitable for Cainor for most people with sporadic ALS.
Known in the United States as Lou Gehrig’s diseasealso called Charcot diseasein Europe, ALS has gained notoriety in recent decades for having seriously affected and finally led to the death of the physicist, one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century.
The theoretical physicist was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1963, when he was 21, and was told by doctors that he only had two years to live. Despite having challenged the initial diagnosishis ability to move and communicate continued to deteriorate until his death in 2018.
Earlier this year, Cai announced that the RAG-17a drug developed by his team, had achieved a clinical breakthrough after several trial participants reported improvement.
One of the patients, He Jianhe would have regained strength in one arm after the first injection. Two additional doses would have helped stabilize his health status.
China has about 200 thousand people with ALSmany of whom need intensive medical care and ongoing support. But families seeking treatments are often exposed to scams.
To make access to care more transparent, Cai’s team also developed a mini-application that puts patients in direct contact with caregivers, without charging intermediation fees.
Cai and the woman, Duan Ruigraduated in Pharmacy, have a son. Duan runs a social media account called “Breaking the Ice Station,” where he broadcasts live to sell products and raise money for scientific research.
Duan said that helping Cai beat ALS would mean so much more than simply having him back into family life. “I’m still afraid of goodbye, but that’s why I value every second I spend with him”, he stated.
