Beginning in Newton, MA, the Tri-State Trek passes through 46 communities and includes 12 rest stops, two lunch stops, and two overnight stays. Cyclists can ride all or part of the route; all three days, one of the three days, or a two-day combination. In addition, volunteers and crew are needed and encouraged to participate throughout the three days.
Since 2003, the Trek has grown from 16 cyclists to more than 400 participants in 2012. The event has raised more than $3 million for ALS TDI, a nonprofit biotechnology Institute in Cambridge, MA dedicated to developing effective treatments and a cure as soon as possible for patients today. Fundraising efforts for ALS TDI have helped the organization test more potential treatments for ALS than any other research lab in the world, one of which is being explored through a research agreement with Biogen Idec and UCB, and a second called, TDI-132/Gilenya®, which is being investigated through a Phase II clinical trial.
“The Tri-State Trek is one way we gather with the ALS community to share in a physically challenging event to recognize a disease that is so much worse,” says Steve Perrin, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of ALS TDI and a cyclist in the Tri-State Trek. “Through funding from the event, our scientists are able to continue making discoveries with the aim of developing effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s disease.”
For more information on riding, volunteering, donating or coming out to cheer, call 617-441-7200 or visit www.TriStateTrek.com.
About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis, due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cure for the disease. About 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year; the incidence is similar to multiple sclerosis. However, with no effective treatment, the average patient survives only two to five years following diagnosis. There are about 30,000 people in the US diagnosed with ALS today. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated at 450,000.
About ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)
The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) as soon as possible for patients today. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust target discovery program, while simultaneously operating the world’s largest efforts to preclinically determine the efficacy of potential therapeutics; including a pipeline of dozens of small molecules, protein biologics, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world’s first nonprofit biotech institute, ALS TDI employs 30 professional scientists and evaluates dozens of potential therapeutics each year and is currently executing a Phase IIA clinical trial of TDI-132 (Novartis’ Gilenya®) in ALS patients. Built by and for patients, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development, including Biogen Idec, UCB, the Gladstone Institutes, MDA and RGK Foundation. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.
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