Innovation plays a key role in The ALS Association’s fight to develop treatments and a cure for ALS and to empower people living with the disease to live their lives to the fullest. During June and July, we are celebrating some of the key innovations helping us change the nature of ALS forever.

Since our founding in 1985, we have put collaboration at the forefront of everything we do. The gift of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in August 2014 gave us the unique opportunity to up our game in establishing innovative research partnerships around the world.

We continue to foster those partnerships throughout the ALS community today. Our partnerships span to all areas, from academic institutions and researchers, to industry (biotech and pharmaceutical) partners, to government organizations, to other nonprofit organizations.

Through our global TREAT ALS™ research program, we encourage collaborations and shared data and resources between top ALS scientists all over the world, while moving as fast as possible toward effective treatments and a cure.

Below is a timeline of research strategic initiatives, programs, and challenges that we have invested millions of dollars in since the Ice Bucket Challenge and continue to work with today. All these programs were initiated through partnerships with other organizations.

The ALS Association is committed to continuing our collaborative spirit to ensure shared resources and research data, while avoiding duplicative efforts and wasted time. We fund the biggest and best ALS research initiatives around the world, spurring innovation along the way.

Cohesive efforts with others who share our vision and values are key to sustained success in the fight against ALS. It is essential to stand together as a united front with all our partners to make the most powerful and effective fight against the disease.

Under the leadership of our chief scientist, Dr. Lucie Bruijn, our strategic partnerships are created between academic scientists and key leaders in biotech and pharmaceutical companies to encourage sharing of not only innovative ideas, but also research data, to eliminate replicative work.

Despite a commonly competitive research environment, we believe that working together is imperative for advancing innovation.

“Our global research program is effective because we are flexible enough to lead, but humble enough to be reactive to cutting-edge scientific innovations by leveraging industry advances and our patient-centric nonprofit vision.” – Dr. Bruijn, Chief Scientist, The ALS Association

Because of the Ice Bucket Challenge, we could invest in the large strategic initiatives listed above. All are aimed at advancing the search for treatments and a cure for ALS. These massive initiatives are at the forefront of gene discovery and work collaboratively with not only the Association, but also with each other to discover new genes, understand the underpinnings of ALS, target new therapies, and expedite clinical trials.

The research and resources generated are shared with the entire ALS research community fuel even more innovation, bringing us closer to a cure than ever before.

For more information about these collaborative initiatives and programs, please click below:

The Neuro Collaborative, Project MinE, the Center for Genomics of Neurodegenerative Disease (CGND) at the New York Genome Center, ALS ACT, Genomic Translation for ALS Care (GTAC), CReATe Consortium, Answer ALS, ALS ONE, NeuroLINCS, ALS Assistive Technology Challenge, TDP-43 Biomarker Challenge, NeuroBANK Expansion, ALS Reproducible Antibody Platform (ALS RAP)

To learn more about Biohaven’s commitment to advances in ALS and other neurological diseases, click here.