Drug Development and Accessibility for Rare Neurological Diseases: Global Landscape, China′s Progress and Future Directions

Rare neurological diseases account for over one-third of the diseases included in the first and second batches of China′s Rare Disease Catalogue. They are generally characterized by high disability rates, heavy care burdens, and prominent unmet clinical treatment needs. In recent years, China has been continuously improving medication accessibility for patients with rare neurological diseases by optimizing the review and approval pathways for rare disease drugs, implementing dynamic medical insurance access, and providing policy support for scientific research. However, challenges remain, including weak independent research and development (R&D) capacity and insufficient translation of high-quality research achievements into clinical practice. Based on the supply gap of clinical treatment resources for rare neurological diseases in China and the overall landscape of global R&D pipelines, this paper summarizes and discusses the current status, characteristics, and future directions of drug development for rare neurological diseases in China.