The ALS Association Renews Funding for the TREAT ALS™/NEALS Clinical Trials Network

The ALS Association is pleased to announce renewal of long-term funding for the TREAT ALS / NEALS Clinical Trial Network, in association with the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS). “This has become a centrally important partnership in ALS clinical trial development,” said ALS Association Chief Scientist Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D. “This renewal will allow this vital work to not only go forward, but also to accelerate.”

Over the past four years, the Network has managed almost two dozen clinical trials in ALS, and has provided expert consultation to other researchers on dozens more. It has become the central repository for ALS tissue samples, which are used to by researchers throughout the world to better understand the disease and the response to therapy. In addition, patient education has become a focus for the Network, with major initiatives in this areas revolving around website development and the creation of a Clinical Research Learning Institute (CRLI) for people with ALS (PALS) informing the community on topics such as clinical trial design, statistical analysis of trials, and the rationale for placebo groups.

The renewal of funding for the coming year will allow the network to bring new ALS studies to fruition; provide ongoing support and management of underfunded trials and studies; increase the ability of NEALS to perform efficient, high-quality ALS trials; educate future ALS investigators; and improve patient education and enrollment in ALS clinical research.

“We are very pleased to be able to support the critical work of the NEALS Consortium and to partner with them to continue the Clinical Trial Network. Each of the activities undertaken by the Network is important for developing new treatments for ALS,” Dr. Bruijn said, “and in combination, they will provide the ALS community a powerful set of tools for quickening the pace of discovery for ALS therapy.”

The NEALS Website is located at http://www.alsconsortium.org/. A clinical trial expert can be reached via phone at (877) 458 – 0631, Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST or via email at alstrials@partners.org.