A traditional Chinese medicine, NeuroAid, for stroke will undergo a Western-style clinical trial in hospitals in Singapore and the Philippines next month, the developers said on September 27.

The trial will be carried out by a non-profit group of doctors from Asia, Australia and Europe. The two-year study will be funded by a grant from the National Medical Research Centre and include 1,100 patients.

Made from 14 Chinese herbs in China, NeuroAid is currently marketed by Singapore-based pharmaceutical company Moleac in Singapore as a "Chinese proprietary medicine." It has been labelled a food supplement in the South-East Asian region. The product is also likely to be sold in Thailand and possibly in Hong Kong too.

If NeuroAid delivers on claims that it helps stroke patients recover movement and thinking abilities, the developers want Western-trained doctors to use the herbal drug as part of mainstream treatment.

"To get more Western-trained doctors to prescribe it, we need clinical trials with Western-trained doctors in a Western clinical environment," said David Picard, Moleac's chief executive.