Tri-State Trek Bike Ride

We Need More Cowbell!  Riders of the annual Tri-State Trek cycle 270 miles from Boston to New York, making noise and raising money to end ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Come to ride, volunteer, or just cheer!     

- July 22 – 24, 2011

- 3 days/270 miles

- www.NeedMoreCowebell.org

- NeedMoreCowbell@als.net

- 617-441-7200

- Funds raised benefit the ALS Therapy Development Institute 

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 cause, cure or effective treatment 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 and an aggressive and rapid disease progression, the average patient survives only 2-5 years following their diagnosis. There are about 30,000 US citizens diagnosed with the disease at any given time. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated at 400,000.

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 validate 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 has developed an industrial-scale platform, employs 30 professional scientists and evaluates dozens of potential therapeutics each year. 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, Aestus Therapeutics, MDA and RGK Foundation. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.