Last year, in this very same note of holiday greetings, we closed our message with this thought:
“Within a year’s time, we could very likely be in a very different place. Can you imagine that? A world where ALS doesn’t stand a fighting chance? It’s what keeps us going.”
Who knew? That cautiously optimistic and wishful sentiment actually came true. 2018 was truly a breakthrough year in the fight against ALS – and it is all because of you! Your continued support of our once unimaginable journey to cure ALS is paying off, and here’s proof:
- We have AT-1501 – the potential treatment for ALS developed uniquely by a non-profit, the first-ever to do so – successfully up and running in Stage 1 Human Clinical Safety Trials. The promising drug that came up through the ALS Therapy Development Institute could slow the progression of the disease and be soon available to thousands with ALS.
- Even more exciting: we have other treatments beginning to show bright spots in the pipeline. AT-1501 is just one of many we’re working to advance as fast as possible. This is thanks to our Precision Medicine Program (PMP), a partnership with hundreds of ALS patients to discover treatments at ALS TDI.
- PMP is leading to findings that may speed up drug discovery and therapeutic development for the disease. We do this through a global, one-of-a-kind ALS database uniquely integrating information about genetics, voice recordings, lifestyle, demographics, and accelerometer data to give scientists new tools for ALS discoveries and ALS patients real-time information about their personal disease progression.
- It also didn’t hurt to have an award-winning documentary hit millions of big and small screens, either. The Augie film helped us spread the word about ALS in an entirely new and impactful way. Thank you all for watching, again and again, and sharing our love story with your networks, too.
- We also hit a milestone for ALS funds raised to date – topping the $150 million mark raised between Augie’s Quest and ALS TDI!
This is all thanks to you – our dear friends, family, partners in business and the entire fitness industry. You’ve taken on ALS right beside us, stepping up your generous gifts, giving of your time and varied talents, and fighting this disease with unmatched passion.
You give us hope, and our dreams are actually coming true.
We’re so thankful to each one of you for joining our hope-filled quest to change people’s lives for the better! Because ALS isn’t an incurable disease; it’s only underfunded. This is a disease we can tackle, this is a problem we can solve for so many living with ALS today.
With heartfelt thanks and holiday wishes,
~ Augie & Lynne
P.S. – Block your calendars in January for #WeDance4ALS and #Stronger4ALS and resolve to be a part of these incredible campaigns. Get moving and check out these videos touting our work with Zumba and Strong by Zumba!
