China will begin clinical tests on a new drug for Alzheimer's disease (AD), after animal tests showed positive results.

AD16, developed by Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has proven effective in improving the memory and cognitive abilities of guinea pigs, Hu Wenhui, head of the development team, told Xinhua on Sunday.

Hu said AD16 functions as an anti-neuroinflammatory agent and can alleviate damage caused by amyloid beta protein on neurons, thus, slowing the disease's progression.

Alzheimer's affects tens of millions of elderly people worldwide, yet there is no effective cure. The cause of the disease is poorly understood, although scientists have linked it to a build-up of the amyloid beta protein in brains.