ALS Therapy Development Institute

The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is the world's foremost drug discovery lab focused solely on ALS. As a nonprofit biotech we operate without regard to profit or politics.

Led by drug development experts and people with ALS, our Watertown, Massachusetts based lab is funded by a global network of supporters unified to end ALS. Our mission is to discover and develop effective treatments for ALS.

Our Impact

With preclinical, clinical, and translational research all happening under one roof, we rapidly pursue the best ideas for slowing, stopping, and ending ALS. Our cutting-edge approach has resulted in:

The rigorous screening of over 400 potential treatments for ALS—more than any other ALS research lab in the world.
Launched the ALS TDI's ALS Research Collaborative (ARC) – an ambitious global initiative that is designed to accelerate ALS research by gathering comprehensive data from people with ALS and sharing it with researchers around the world.
The world's first Precision Medicine Program, a partnership with people living with ALS, designed to speed up drug discovery and therapeutic development for ALS.
ALS TDI becoming the first nonprofit biotech in any disease to develop a potential treatment, tegoprubart, and bring it from our own labs, through FDA review and into clinical trial.
The improvement of worldwide standards in preclinical drug screening in models of ALS.

Learn About Our Research Approach

Why We Started

Stephen Heywood was diagnosed with ALS at age 29. After finding no treatment options, his brother, Jamie Heywood, realized that a gap existed in the preclinical development of therapies for ALS. In 1999, Jamie founded the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, now ALS TDI, in the basement of his family's Newton home in an effort to bridge this gap and bring effective treatments to people with ALS as quickly as possible.

Although Stephen is no longer with us, this same sense of hope, family and innovation drives every decision made at ALS TDI today.

Explore Our 20-Year History

Video: Meet the Team Working to End ALS

Meet the team working to end ALS at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). When you make a donation, you are helping us get closer to finding cures for this devastating disease.

We Put Your Money Where Our Research Is

87 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to finding treatments and cures at ALS TDI, compared to the average 75 cents at other research labs.

Charity Navigator has awarded ALS TDI its highest rating—four stars—for a record six years in a row. This exceptional designation sets ALS TDI apart from its peers.

Financial Reports

Help Fund Effective Treatments