What is ALS
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig´s disease, has no cure and no effective
treatment. ALS is marked by a rapid loss of voluntary muscle contraction due to the death of motor
neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The result is complete muscle paralysis, communication
impairment, difficulty swallowing and breathing, and eventual death. Following diagnosis, the
average ALS patient survives 2-5 years.
There are an estimated 30,000 ALS patients in the U.S. today. ALS has no prejudice - it
occurs worldwide, with no age, ethnic or economic boundaries.
About ALS TDI
Founded in 1999, the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is a nonprofit biotechnology company
devoted to discovering treatments for patients with ALS. They built an in-house research program that
combines the power of a nonprofit mission with the best practices of a for-profit biotechnology company.
In the US, ALS strikes nearly as many newly diagnosed patients (approximately 8,000) annually
as Multiple Sclerosis (approximately 10,400). Because ALS kills so quickly, there are fewer
than 30,000 people living with ALS at any given time as opposed to over 400,000 with MS. This
small patient population creates a perception that ALS research is an unprofitable market and
as a result, companies are hesitant to spend the $802 million frequently required to develop a
new drug from scratch. ALS TDI demonstrates to companies that ALS research can be sustainable and
reduces the companiesí financial risk by creating partnerships to make our state-of-the-art lab and
research accessible to them.
ALS TDI built and operates the worldís leading ALS testing laboratory and has performed in depth
evaluations of nearly 700 promising drug candidates to date. Over the last six years they have
completed 150 in vivo studies-- twice the number of studies published in the field over the last
ten years and discovered seven drug candidates, including two in clinical trial at the ALS Center,
University of California, San Francisco.
For more information on ALS TDI, please visit www.als.net
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