LEXINGTON, MA - The 10th annual “The Cure is Coming!” 5k and awareness walk to end ALS will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2014 in Lexington, MA. This event gathers local area residents to run, walk, or roll to raise funding and awareness for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. All proceeds benefit Cambridge nonprofit, ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), the world’s largest drug development organization dedicated to ending ALS.
The event features a four-mile awareness walk starting at 11:00 a.m. and 5k race beginning at 11:30 a.m. “The Cure is Coming!” is fun for the whole family and includes free lunch for participants.
Additionally this year, “The Cure is Coming!” has an honorary chair, Needham resident, Torry Stamm. Last year, she inspired and lead over 60 participants to walk or run on team, “It’s All About Nick,” in honor of her father, Nick Katsiroubas, who had ALS and passed away from the disease in 2013. Stamm’s commitment and passion to end ALS motivated her community to raise over $30,000 for last year’s event, contributing greatly to drug development efforts at ALS TDI.
“After my dad was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, our family wanted to focus our efforts on finding a cure for this devastating disease. The best way to accomplish our goal is to support the efforts of ALS TDI. This year our team will walk for the first year in memory of my dad. He’s come to the walks every year we participated, and this year we will proudly walk in his memory,” says Torry Stamm.
“Since the Institute was founded in 1999, we’ve made ALS our problem to solve,” says Steve Perrin, Ph.D., CEO & Chief Scientific Officer of ALS TDI. “Each person who donates and participates in ‘The Cure is Coming!’ helps accelerate the mission to discover and develop effective treatments to end ALS.”
More than 600 people attended last year’s “The Cure is Coming!” and over $100,000 was raised from the 2013 event.
For more information and to register or donate in this year’s event on May 3, please visit “The Cure is Coming!” website at www.cureiscoming.org or call 617-441-7200.
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. About 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year. 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 discover and develop effective treatments to end ALS as soon as possible. ALS TDI is the world’s largest independent ALS/MND drug development-focused nonprofit organization. It currently has partnerships with dozens of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide in order to advance potential treatments into the clinic. Its lead ALS therapeutic candidate, Novartis’ (Switzerland) Gilenya (TDI-132), is in Phase 2A clinical trial for ALS. For more information, visitwww.als.net.
Media Contact: Mari Sullivan, Public Relations Manager, ALS TDI, 617-441-7220, msullivan@als.net
