Neuralstem has announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BaYi Brain Hospital in Beijing, China. Under the agreement, BaYi Brain and Neuralstem will jointly prepare a clinical protocol for treatment of motor deficits due to ischemic stroke.

BaYi Brain will prepare the Mandarin version of the clinical trial documents and submit the documents to the Hospital's Ethics Board for review and approval. Upon approval of the trial protocol by the Hospital's Ethics Board, BaYi Brain then submit the documents to the Military Regulatory Agency for review and approval of the trial.  BaYi Brain will be the site of the trial, which Neuralstem will sponsor.

"The Chinese government has recently announced its desire to become a prominent player in the field of stem cell transplantation and regenerative medicine," said Karl Johe, Chairman and Neuralstem Chief Scientific Officer, who was in Beijing to sign the agreement. "We are honored and excited to begin this process at BaYi Brain Hospital, one of the premier neurological hospitals in China."

"The incidence of ischemic stroke in China is estimated to be at least 2.5 million people per year, with a roughly 70 percent survival rate. China has by far the world's largest chronic stroke population. This enormous demonstrated need is one reason that we founded our wholly-owned subsidiary, Neuralstem China, in 2010," said Richard Garr, Neuralstem's President and CEO.