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ALS Research

We are the largest philanthropic funder of ALS research worldwide, and our efforts have led to some of the most promising and significant advances in the field. 

We have the premier ALS research program in the world. 

Everything we do supports our mission of finding treatments and a cure for ALS, which is why it's so critical to fund outstanding ALS research. Thanks to the donations raised during the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, we're now spending three times more on ALS research than before summer 2014.

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FDA Approves AMX0035!

If you took the Ice Bucket Challenge, you helped deliver AMX0035, the first newly developed treatment approved for ALS in years. AMX0035 slows progression of ALS and extends life for people living with ALS.

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Partnerships & Initiatives

From harnessing innovative ideas, to translating concepts to therapies, to advancing treatments for people living with ALS – The ALS Association’s collaborative and global approach to funding research continues to lead to significant discoveries by top ALS scientists around the world.  

Collaboration is the cornerstone of our research program. We partner with academia, industry, government, and other nonprofit organizations and lead by spurring long-lasting collaborations among researchers across all sectors, leading to globally shared data, protocols, and research samples to accelerate research progress. 

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Barnetts

Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Drug Development Program

This grant program supports preclinical drug discovery and development of treatments for ALS.

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We tackle ALS through supporting scientific studies in the following 13 scientific focus areas:

Assistive Technology Assistive Technology
Biomarkers Biomarkers
Clinical Studies Clinical Studies
Cognitive Studies Cognitive Studies
Disease Mechanisms Disease Mechanisms
Disease Models Disease Models
Drug Development Drug Development
Environmental Factors Environmental Factors
Genetics Genetics
Nanotechnology Nanotechnology
Natural History Studies Natural History Studies
Precision Medicine Precision Medicine
Stem Cells Stem Cells

Our progress in accelerating the pace of discovery

Due to the huge funding boost from generous donors during the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, so far we have committed more than $122 million to research alone, not including investments in the other core pillars of The ALS Association. This commitment is focused on specific projects and large global initiatives to help drive progress toward finding treatments and a cure for ALS.  

  • 3 potential new ALS antisense drugs
  • Key advances in wearable sensor and brain computer interface technology
  • New treatment approaches in clinical trials
  • Research Discoveries
The National ALS Registry
The ALS Registry and Biorepository was created to help understand how prevalent ALS is, who develops the disease, and what the possible causes are.
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Latest Research News

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ALS Association

Here’s Why FDA Committee’s Recommendation on Tofersen Matters to Everyone

March 24, 2023
ALS Association

FDA Committee Unanimously Recommends Accelerated Approval of Tofersen

March 22, 2023
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ALS Association

Genetics and My ALS

March 17, 2023
Dr. Don Cleveland
With The ALS Association’s ongoing support, my work in antisense technology, which was once thought of as innovative and risky, has led to clinical trials that could help people with ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases."
Don Cleveland, Ph.D.
University of California at San Diego
Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences
Antonia Dominguez, Ph.D.
I was extremely honored to receive a fellowship grant from The ALS Association to further my work in studying ALS because I know that so many people apply. It has already helped advance my work on tuning the levels of the C9orf72 gene, the most common genetic mutation in ALS."
Antonia Dominguez, Ph.D.
Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellow
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