A stroke can either be fatal or it can severely disable a victim. Yet no western medicine has so far been able to help bring such victims back to health.

In Singapore, stroke is the fourth most common cause of death and the biggest cause of long-term disability. About 10,000 people are admitted to hospital each year for stroke-related problems.

"Maybe you can't walk, you can't talk, you can't bathe. You become dependent and you are not able to live the live you had before," said chief executive David Picard, 39, of biopharmaceutical company, Moleac Pte Ltd, located in the Biopolis in Singapore.

His company manufactures the stroke-recovery drug, Neuroaid, which is made from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has had positive results on stroke patients.

Neuroaid is a preparation containing a mixture of 14 herbal and plant extracts. It was developed by the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin in China as a TCM. Moleac is the exclusive licensee for this product in most markets outside China.

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is interrupted or severely reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Within a few minutes, brain cells start dying, and the victim suffers loss of the functions associated with the damaged brain parts. Victims suffer problems such as speech disorders, breathing difficulty, the loss of mobility and bladder functions.

According to Mr Picard, the natural drug works by aiding neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Research suggests that the healthy parts of the brain can take over the functions of those damaged in a stroke.

He make it clear though that the drug is no substitute for rehabilitation treatments. Currently, treatment for stroke victims involves rehabilitation, like physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. When combined with rehabilitation, Neuroaid helps patients achieve faster progress and better results, said Mr Picard.

A clinical trial in China of 605 stroke patients showed that those using Neuroaid, or Danqi Piantan Jiaonang in Chinese, were over two times as likely as those in the control group to achieve a strong recovery of their functions, said Mr Picard.

More than 150,000 patients are treated yearly with the drug in China, where it has gained national registration for the indication of stroke recovery.

Neuroaid was registered as a Chinese proprietary medicine in Singapore last July. Currently, western clinical trials are being planned by Chimes Society, a group of local and international neurologists. It should be available this year as well in other parts of Southeast Asia and in the US and Europe

Also lined up for the year is a smoking cessation product called Re:vive, which is based on acupuncture principles. Awaiting registration as a medical device, it is about the size of a watch and will cost about $200 to $230 when it is released late this year.

While current smoking cessation therapies work by delivering nicotine or its subsitutes through an alternative channel, Re:vive treats the addiction by stimulating the body to restore its natural chemical balance.

"How do you become addicted?" asked Mr Picard. "It's because nicotine has displaced another substance in the body because it hits the same receptors."

As a result, the body does not need to produce as much of that other substance.and becomes dependent on nicotine instead.

Through the use of electrical impulses, Re:vive triggers the body to restore the natural chemical balance that existed before the addiction. According to Mr Picard, clinical trials conducted in National University Hospital have shown good results.

And if things go as planned, Moleac will be rolling out more products from the TCM world in the coming years. The company is working to establish itself in the niche position of a company that bridges western and eastern medicine.

"I come from a business background. What struck me is how many dollars a drug company spends to develop a new drug. Now, I think it's reaching about US$800 million per drug.

"That's certainly a good way to improve medicine, but I'm a bit puzzled. There are a lot of things that are based on [practical] know-how, especially in TCM, which are left completely unexploited by western medicine.

"What I'm doing is to stream from TCM the products that can make it in mainstream medicine."

The company then conducts western clinical trials on them - a critical step "because there is limited acceptance and understanding of TCM by western practitioners".

From the business perspective, this approach makes sense as it is far cheaper than producing a new drug from scratch. For Neuroaid, Moleac spent a sum in the "single digit millions" to get the licence for it and conduct clinical trials.

From the patient's perspective, this approach can offer renewed hope.

"I'm looking at areas that have been completely unaddressed or are not likely to be addressed," said Mr Picard.

"So if I find a product in China that has a good safety profile, a good efficacy profile, some clinical data, then I'm very eager to bring it to the West."