In a remarkable testament to resilience, Cai Lei—a former internet executive now battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—has catalyzed unprecedented progress in neurodegenerative disease research through unconventional methods. Despite losing his ability to speak, Cai leverages an AI-generated voice to advocate for cross-disciplinary collaboration, a strategy that has yielded 40 clinical pipelines for ALS treatments in China over the past five years.
Since 2020, over 200 drug pipelines and therapeutic pathways have emerged under initiatives inspired by Cai’s advocacy. His call to action, synthesized through AI, emphasizes urgency:
"We must treat time as our scarcest resource. Every breakthrough saves lives waiting in the dark."
Researchers credit this momentum to Cai’s insistence on merging technology, neurology, and data science—a model now replicated across Asia. As 2025 concludes, medical institutions report accelerated trials for gene therapies and AI-driven diagnostics, positioning China as a key player in global ALS research.
While Cai considers this phase "the end of Chapter One," his legacy continues through collaborative networks spanning 15 countries and regions. The World Health Organization recently highlighted China’s progress as a case study for patient-led innovation in rare disease research.
