ALS Therapy Development Institute Announces Eighth Annual "The Cure Is Coming" 5k and Awareness Walk
Participants walk, ride or race to raise money and awareness to end ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
Cambridge, MA, March 21, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) will hold its eighth annual “The Cure Is Coming” 5k and awareness walk on Saturday, May 5, 2012 in historic Lexington, MA. The event will feature a four-mile ALS awareness walk and wheelchair ride through Lexington Center, as well as a 5k road race.
This year, event organizers hope for a record 700 walkers, runners and riders, all who will raise money and awareness of ALS TDI efforts to develop effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Walkers will depart from Lexington Visitor Center at 11:00 a.m. and will complete a four-mile loop through Lexington Center and past the Lexington Battle Green. Runners will begin their 5k race at 11:30 a.m. in the opposite direction. The event also will feature family activities, entertainment and lunch, provided courtesy of local Lexington restaurants.
Medals will be awarded to the top three 5k finishers in different age groups, with cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25 to the top three male and female finishers. Walkers who fundraise at least $50 will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Additional prizes will also be awarded to top fundraisers.
Gabrielle Nahr, event chair volunteer for the sixth year in a row, said, “We are excited and humbled to see the success of ‘The Cure is Coming’ both in participation and donations. Having seen this event grow year after year gives me hope that we’re encouraging and funding more research so we can one day end ALS.” A native of Lexington, Nahr’s mother passed away from ALS.
“We would like to thank the people and township of Lexington for hosting this event and the volunteers who have donated their time to make this day possible. We also are grateful to all those participants and supporters of ‘The Cure is Coming’ who come to show their support to the community by funding research to end ALS,” said Steve Perrin, Ph.D., CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of ALS TDI.
Anyone interested in donating, walking, racing or volunteering should visit the event’s website at www.cureiscoming.org or call 617-441-7200.
About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis, due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cause, cure or effective treatment for the disease. About 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year; the incidence is similar to Multiple Sclerosis. However, with no effective treatment and an aggressive and rapid disease progression, the average patient survives only 2-5 years following their diagnosis. There are only about 30,000 US citizens with the disease at any given time. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated at 400,000.
About ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)
The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) as soon as possible for patients today. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust target discovery program, while simultaneously operating the world’s largest efforts to preclinically validate potential therapeutics; including a pipeline of dozens of small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world’s first nonprofit biotech institute, ALS TDI has developed an industrial-scale platform, employs 30 professional scientists and evaluates dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development, including Biogen Idec, UCB, Aestus Therapeutics, MDA and RGK Foundation. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.
This year, event organizers hope for a record 700 walkers, runners and riders, all who will raise money and awareness of ALS TDI efforts to develop effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Walkers will depart from Lexington Visitor Center at 11:00 a.m. and will complete a four-mile loop through Lexington Center and past the Lexington Battle Green. Runners will begin their 5k race at 11:30 a.m. in the opposite direction. The event also will feature family activities, entertainment and lunch, provided courtesy of local Lexington restaurants.
Medals will be awarded to the top three 5k finishers in different age groups, with cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25 to the top three male and female finishers. Walkers who fundraise at least $50 will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Additional prizes will also be awarded to top fundraisers.
Gabrielle Nahr, event chair volunteer for the sixth year in a row, said, “We are excited and humbled to see the success of ‘The Cure is Coming’ both in participation and donations. Having seen this event grow year after year gives me hope that we’re encouraging and funding more research so we can one day end ALS.” A native of Lexington, Nahr’s mother passed away from ALS.
“We would like to thank the people and township of Lexington for hosting this event and the volunteers who have donated their time to make this day possible. We also are grateful to all those participants and supporters of ‘The Cure is Coming’ who come to show their support to the community by funding research to end ALS,” said Steve Perrin, Ph.D., CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of ALS TDI.
Anyone interested in donating, walking, racing or volunteering should visit the event’s website at www.cureiscoming.org or call 617-441-7200.
About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis, due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cause, cure or effective treatment for the disease. About 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year; the incidence is similar to Multiple Sclerosis. However, with no effective treatment and an aggressive and rapid disease progression, the average patient survives only 2-5 years following their diagnosis. There are only about 30,000 US citizens with the disease at any given time. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated at 400,000.
About ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)
The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) as soon as possible for patients today. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust target discovery program, while simultaneously operating the world’s largest efforts to preclinically validate potential therapeutics; including a pipeline of dozens of small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world’s first nonprofit biotech institute, ALS TDI has developed an industrial-scale platform, employs 30 professional scientists and evaluates dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development, including Biogen Idec, UCB, Aestus Therapeutics, MDA and RGK Foundation. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.
Contact
ALS Therapy Development Institute
Mari Sullivan
617-441-7220
www.als.net
Mari Sullivan
617-441-7220
www.als.net
Contact
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