Preliminary data showing an Amylyx Pharmaceuticals drug as a promising new therapy in slowing the progression of ALS was published in The Wall Street Journal Today:

“The drug’s maker, closely held Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., is releasing only the barest outlines of the mid-stage trial for now, as researchers continue to analyze the results. The drug slowed the rate of ALS’s progression in patients as measured by a widely used scale, said the researchers and the company’s founders.

‘We’re just another step closer to hopefully stopping this illness,” said Merit Cudkowicz, who heads the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and helped design and coordinate the study.’”  See The Wall Street Journal article HERE.

The ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine is currently one of the research sites gathering clinical data.

While the trial is ongoing, it is no longer enrolling new participants.

This is an innovative trial that is designed to identify promising new therapies and test these rapidly and simultaneously under one protocol.

“We are thrilled to offer this exciting study at the University of Michigan,” said Stephen Goutman, M.D., M.S., associate director of the U-M ALS Center of Excellence. “This furthers our commitment to developing and testing new therapies for ALS. We have a terrific staff of study coordinators who are prepared to carry out this trial.”

This study is projected to start sometime in 2020. Individuals interested in participating in the trial at Michigan Medicine should contact Jayna Duell, R.N., at 734-936-8776. A complete listing of all 54 sites is available here.

For additional information about the trial, including the drugs to be used, please visit the Mass General website.

About the U-M ALS Center of Excellence: The ALS Center of Excellence is comprised of an active basic science, translational, and clinical research program and the Multidisciplinary ALS Clinic. This structure engages collaboration between physicians, basic scientists, nurses, ancillary providers, and research coordinators all working towards better treatments, an understanding of why a person develops ALS, and ultimately a cure for ALS.

About ALS: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease that leads to the death of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This in turns causes progressive weakness of voluntary skeletal muscle often leading to death in 2 to 4 years. Current therapies only minimally slow disease and new therapeutic options are critically needed.