Orangetheory Fitness and Augie’s Quest Collaboration Funds Innovative Research at the ALS Therapy Development

Cambridge, MA, June 20, 2019 --(PR.com)-- This past May over 1,100 members of Orangetheory Fitness across the US and Canada raised $4.5 million to support ALS research through their #AQuestforMoreLife campaign. Orangetheory Fitness members ran, rowed, and lifted, earning “splat points,” which they turned into donations for Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS. This is the third year in a row that Orangetheory Fitness has invited members to fundraise for Augie’s Quest and they have now raised a total of over $10 million. With this $10 million donation Augie’s Quest is supporting non-profit biotech, the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), to fast track cure-driven drugs.

Orangetheory’s decision to partner with Augie’s Quest hits close to home in the fitness community. Augie Nieto, a fitness industry pioneer and founder of Life Fitness, was diagnosed with ALS in 2005. He founded Augie’s Quest with the mission to find a cure for the disease that affects far too many people today, robbing them of their muscles and every benefit that exercise provides.

Over the past two years money raised through Orangetheory Fitness for Augie’s Quest has allowed ALS TDI to make amazing advances in research, including being the first-ever non profit biotech to discover and develop a potential treatment, AT-1501, and bring it from their own lab, through FDA review and into clinical trial. Additionally, these funds have supported ALS TDI’s Precision Medicine Program (PMP), the most comprehensive and longest running translational research study in ALS. Through the PMP, researchers partner with people with ALS around the world to share and gather data on medical histories, family histories, genetics, biomarkers, and patient cell biology to better understand the disease and to discover more treatments for ALS, faster.

“ALS TDI is extremely grateful to Orangetheory Fitness, Augie’s Quest, and everyone who participated in a #AQuestforMoreLife,” said Steve Perrin, PhD, President and CEO of ALS TDI. “The funds we received have been instrumental in helping us to advance ALS treatments like AT-1501 and build our Precision Medicine Program. With support from #AQuestforMoreLife we are continuing to learn more about ALS and make progress toward finding new treatments.”

The ALS TDI lab in Cambridge, MA is now fit with special signage to honor Orangetheory Fitness and Augie’s Quest for their outstanding commitment to fast-tracking science to find effective treatments and cures for ALS.