04:17 AM EST, 12/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Eli Lilly ( LLY ) said late Tuesday that China's National Medical Products Administration has approved its therapy Kisunla for adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease or with the mild dementia stage of Alzheimer's disease who have confirmed amyloid pathology.

The application to the Chinese regulator was based on efficacy and safety data from a phase 3 study of the treatment, also called donanemab-azbt, the company said.

Among two groups in the study, patients treated with Kisunla had up to 39% lower risk of progressing to the next clinical stage of Alzheimer's than those taking placebo, the company said.

Lilly said China is the fourth major market in which Kisunla has been approved by regulators, following approvals in the US, the UK and Japan.

Kisunla can help the body remove the excessive buildup of amyloid plaques which may lead to cognitive decline, the company said.