There are many biotechs that are working to find effective treatments for ALS. There are also many nonprofits working to raise funds to support research. But as a nonprofit biotech, the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is a unique organization. When you donate to ALS TDI, you’re directly funding drug discovery at one of the world’s largest research institutes dedicated solely to ALS. 

Supporting ALS TDI means fueling a team of experts, innovators, and people personally connected to this disease who won’t stop until everyone living with ALS has effective treatments. Here's why:

We exist for one purpose: to end ALS.

ALS TDI is the largest nonprofit research institute in the world focused solely on discovering and inventing effective treatments for ALS. ALS TDI invests 87 cents of every dollar directly into our research to discover and advance groundbreaking medicines.

We’re powered by people, not profit.

As a nonprofit biotech, ALS TDI answers to the ALS community—not shareholders. This allows us to pursue the avenues of research that we believe will have the greatest impact for people with ALS. Your support directly fuels science with one mission: to transform ALS from a fatal disease into a curable one.

We take a multifaceted approach to ending ALS.

Our scientists attack the disease from every angle—developing and advancing new treatments, identifying causes and risk factors, and sharing data to accelerate global ALS research. Because all stages of research are executed under one roof, ideas move efficiently from discovery to development to potential treatment.

Our track record proves what’s possible.

ALS TDI has helped advance multiple potential treatments into clinical trials, developed six prototype digital biomarkers to better measure disease progression, and been awarded 13 U.S. drug patents—all powered by community-funded research.

We’re working to fill the ALS clinical pipeline.

ALS isn’t one disease, and it won’t be cured by one treatment. That’s why it’s our mission to serve as the Drug Discovery Engine for ALS—developing and advancing multiple therapies to meet the needs of everyone living with the disease.

Science led by multidisciplinary ALS experts.

Our team brings more than 300 years of combined experience studying ALS, uniting deep expertise in biology, chemistry, and translational medicine with an unrelenting drive to turn discoveries into real therapies. 

We’re a global hub of collaboration.

Our impact on ALS research goes far beyond our own lab. We share our infrastructure, data, and expertise with partners throughout the field to accelerate discovery and development of their therapeutic ideas, as well as our own. 

We’re personally connected to the fight.

Founded by the Heywood family after Stephen Heywood’s diagnosis at 29, and guided for 15 years by the leadership of our late board chair, Augie Nieto, ALS TDI has always been shaped by people living with ALS. Many of us have lost family or friends to this disease. We know what’s at stake—and that’s what drives our determination. This is more than research for us. It’s personal.

We learn about ALS from people with ALS.

The ALS Research Collaborative (ARC) is the longest-running natural history study in ALS, translating the lived experience of people with ALS to advancements in research. Through ARC, we gather and share data that’s transforming how we understand and treat this disease. ARC data powers ALS research at ALS TDI and is shared with researchers around the globe through the ARC Data Commons. 

We’re pioneering the next generation of ALS therapeutics.

From developing new animal and cell models that more accurately reflect ALS biology to advancing cutting-edge technologies like mRNA therapeutics, ALS TDI continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Our work doesn’t just follow innovation—it drives it.

Every breakthrough we make is powered by the support of people like you. Learn more about our research, explore our active research programs, or join our natural history study—the ARC Study—to directly advance discovery.

Be part of the mission to end ALS.

Donate today or learn more about ways to fund ALS research through community events, monthly giving, and legacy programs here.