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Community Corner

Somerville Resident to Cycle 270 Miles to End ALS

  Cambridge, MA – This June, John DiModica will join approximately 400 men and women to cycle in the 12th annual Tri-State Trek, a three day, 270-mile charity bike ride with the mission to end amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

 

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis, and eventually death. It takes away a person’s ability to walk, move, and talk, but keeps the mind intact. There are approximately 30,000 people in the US living with ALS, and the average patient survives only two to five years following his or her diagnosis. There is no cure for the disease, and no effective treatment.

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DiModica and the other Trek cyclists will raise awareness for ALS as well as raise funds to help accelerate the development of treatments to end the disease.

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This will be DiModica’s sixth time participating in the Tri-State Trek, and he plans to ride 270 miles and all three days of the event. “I ride in memory of a good college friend, Chris Hobler who suffered ALS and passed away about 10 years ago now.  Chris was about 40 years old when he passed.  In his last 3 or 4 years, Chris started ALS HOPE - an ALS support & fundraising organization that has raised millions of dollars for ALS research and support.  I ride for Chris and any people and their families who are afflicted with ALS.  We will END ALS someday soon!”

 

All proceeds from the ALS TDI Tri-State Trek support the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), a nonprofit biotech based in Cambridge, MA. With 25 full-time scientists, ALS TDI is the largest full-scale laboratory devoted solely to ALS. In the past eleven years, riders and volunteers of the Tri-State Trek have raised more than $3.5 million for research taking place at ALS TDI. With this support, ALS TDI has been able to move forward projects and partnerships toward the goal of ending ALS, including those like the company’s Phase II clinical trial of Gilenya in ALS that is enrolling at four sites in the US.

 

“People living with ALS are in desperate need of treatments and a cure. By participating in the Trek, John gives hope to patients and families affected by this disease by funding research into treatments to end ALS,” says Steve Perrin, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at ALS TDI and Tri-State Trek participant.

 

The 12th annual Tri-State Trek will take place this June 27-29. To support DiModica’s efforts, please visit http://tst.als.net/Page.aspx?p=9104 . For more information on riding, volunteering, or coming out to cheer, call 617-441-7200 or visit www.TriStateTrek.com.  

 

About the Tri-State Trek

The Tri-State Trek is a three-day, 270 mile charity bike ride from Boston, MA to Greenwich, CT that raises money and awareness to end amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Trek was created by and raises funding for the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), a nonprofit biotechnology institute in Cambridge, MA dedicated to discovering and developing effective treatments to end ALS. Since 2003, the Trek has grown from 16 cyclists to more than 400 participants in 2013 and has raised more than $3.5 million for ALS TDI.

 

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, visit www.als.net.

 

Media Contact:

Mari Sullivan, Public Relations Manager, ALS TDI, 617-441-7220, msullivan@als.net

 

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