For example, some reviews focused on the overall presentation of drug clinical trials for ischemic stroke,14, 15, 16 while some other reviews focused on specific types of drugs or strategies, such as neuroprotective strategies,17 modulation of neuroinflammation,18 stem cell therapies,19 tenecteplase,20 rapamycin,21 erythropoietin, and its derivatives,22 etc. However, no investigations on the evolution of ischemic stroke drug clinical trials in mainland China have been conducted to date. Here, EPO is linked to ischemic stroke.