Under the legislation, Minnesota will disperse $20 million to the Minnesota Officer of Higher Education to award competitive research grants to scientists studying the prevention, treatment, causes or cures of ALS. Applicants may range from research facilities, universities or health systems located in Minnesota. An additional $5 million will be dedicated to helping caregivers care for loved ones living with ALS. These caregiving funds will be appropriated to the Minnesota Department of Aging to fund local organizations dedicated to providing caregiver support programs that serve Minnesotans in their homes and communities. The funds may also be used to provide respite care.
The ALS Association announced today that it has awarded a $620,000 grant to the Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins to support the Answer ALS Data Portal. Launched in January this year, the Data Portal provides open access to the world’s most comprehensive collection of ALS data.
Today, more than 230 organizations sent a letter to all 50 state governors urging them to maintain and expand licensure flexibilities enacted at the start of the pandemic for the duration of the federal public health emergency, to better address patient needs during the ongoing pandemic.
The ALS Association has created a new diagnostic guide, thinkALS, that will help neurologists more quickly diagnose ALS. Earlier diagnoses allow patients to participate in clinical trials and access treatments and benefits sooner, as well as receive care services support.
Following Amylyx’s announcement that it intends to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for AMX0035, The ALS Association today urges the Food and Drug Administration to approve the treatment for all people with ALS as soon as possible.
The ALS Association today announced that California’s legislature, in conjunction with the California Department of Public Health has approved $15 million over the next five years for the wraparound model of care and treatment of ALS in the state.
Following the lack of action by the FDA to expedite approval of AMX0035, an experimental treatment for ALS, The ALS Association today called on the agency to follow its own guidance and move with the urgency of its Canadian and European Union counterparts. Health Canada and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are working with Amylyx, the company that makes AMX0035, to move the treatment toward approval.
The ALS Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and ALS Finding a Cure® (ALSFAC), provided an additional $1.1 million in supplementary funding to leading investigators at the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital for promising research into cell therapy that could slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
A press release outlining the certification that Holy Cross Health received as The ALS Association Florida Chapter's fifth multidisciplinary ALS clinic recognized as a Certified Treatment Center of Excellence
Today, in response to the New England Journal of Medicine publication of encouraging clinical trial results showing that Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ AMX0035 brought statistically significant benefit to people living with ALS, The ALS Association and I AM ALS immediately called on the drug company and the FDA to make the treatment widely available as soon as possible.
The Bitner Plante Initiative which funds the ALS Certified Centers of Excellence across Florida received $800,000 to continue our mission for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
The ALS Association and I AM ALS announced today that the organizations have awarded a combined grant of $500,000 to BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BCLI), a biotechnology company, to support an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) biomarker research study. The grant will be used to draw insights from data and samples collected from patients enrolled in BrainStorm’s ongoing phase 3 clinical trial of its NurOwn® treatment, to further understanding of critical biomarkers associated with treatment response for people with ALS.
The ALS Association, in partnership with the American Brain Foundation and the American Academy of Neurology, has awarded the 2020 Sheila Essey Award for ALS research to Guy Rouleau, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital and chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University. The award recognizes significant research contributions in the search for the cause, prevention of and cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Since 1996, The ALS Association and the American Academy of Neurology have jointly chosen recipients of the award.
The ALS Association today announced a three-year, $652,543 commitment to support new collaborative initiatives that will encourage therapeutic pipeline development, improve ALS trial efficiency and quality, and enhance the patient experience with trial access, recruitment, and retention efforts. Activities will take place at the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General in collaboration with the Barrow Neurological Institute and the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS).
The ALS Association announced today that Jinsy Andrews, M.D., Larry Falivena, Ken Menkhaus, Ph.D., Kevin Spinella, Bill Thoet, and Dave Van de Riet have joined its national Board of Trustees. Both Menkhaus and Falivena are living with ALS, while Andrews is a neurologist at Columbia University. Both Spinella and Van de Riet lost their fathers to ALS and Thoet rejoins the Board after previously serving as Chairman.
Cleveland Construction Attorney and Hahn Loeser Partner Andrew J. Natale was honored by The ALS Association at the annual Hero Awards Dinner held in Charlotte, NC on Wednesday, February 19. Andy was one of four recipients selected for the 2020 award.
The ALS Association today announced a $3 million commitment to the first platform trial for ALS, taking place at the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General in collaboration with the Barrow Neurological Institute and the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS). A "platform trial" is a clinical trial in which multiple treatments are tested and evaluated simultaneously. The Association’s commitment is $1 million per year for 3 years.
The ALS Association is partnering with, and will be directly investing in, the ALS Investment Fund II to raise $100 million to accelerate investment in ALS research and development. This second venture fund with offices in Boston and Amsterdam, succeeds a fund that started in The Netherlands and raised $25 million in two-and-a-half years to invest in companies with ALS initiatives.
A coalition of patient, clinician, and provider groups – including the ALS Association, the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC), the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC), American Association for Homecare (AAHC), and the Council for Respiratory Care (CQRC) – today commend Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) for introducing legislation to protect Medicare beneficiaries’ access to critical home ventilation therapy. The Safeguarding Medicare Access to Respiratory Therapy (SMART) Act of 2019 would delay the inclusion of ventilators from the Medicare durable medical equipment competitive bidding program for five years, and establish a technical expert panel (TEP) to update that national coverage policies for home mechanical ventilator devices so that they reflect technological advancements and peer-reviewed science.