Current Research

To put the impact of ALS into perspective, more people die from this disease annually than from Multiple Sclerosis yet the funding for ALS research is significantly less. Annually, the National Institute of Health only spends an estimated $20 million on ALS research, compared with $80 million for cystic fibrosis, which afflicts a similar number of people. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies do not find ALS research a lucrative enough endeavor to warrant significant research expense. Rilutek is the only FDA-approved drug available today in the treatment of ALS. This “treatment” only extends a patient’s life an average of 2-3 months and does not slow the ultimate progression of the disease. ALS research is indeed an expensive undertaking. To carry a treatment from its initial development phase to human trial to eventual treatment costs on average $300,000 to $500,000. While this is a significant amount, the impact of successful research can be far reaching. Current studies are showing potential links between ALS treatment and the treatment for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Disease. Strides are being made, yet the pace of today’s research is hindered by the lack of dedicated funding. ALS Race for Research is committed to monitoring current research projects and will direct funds to those projects that support our overall mission of working to find a cure today. Currently, several efforts have been identified that are making great progress in ALS research: