6 Global Research: The World is Our Lab T he ALS Association is committed to funding the most cutting-edge ALS research in the world. Our global research effort has helped increase the number of scientists working on ALS, advanced new discoveries and treatments, and shed light on the genetic and environmental factors involved with ALS. With the advances in research, we are closer than ever to viable treatments. Did you know? • The ALS Association is funding more than 150 active research projects in 11 countries. • The ALS Association has been able to triple its research funding since the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge and real progress is being made. • Researchers have discovered four new genes that contribute to the develop- ment of ALS in the last two years. • The ALS Association submitted a drug guidance document to the FDA, which will speed the development and approval of new ALS treatments. Dr. Janet Woodcock, the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the guidance document is “superb” and “harnessed the thinking of the best minds across areas of expertise.” • This spring, the FDA approved Radicava™ (edaravone), the first new treat- ment approved specifically for ALS in 22 years. • Tirasemtiv, which is funded in part by The ALS Association, is in Phase 3 clini- cal trials with results expected this year. If the results are promising, we hope that it will be available to treat people with ALS as soon as possible. • The research portfolio supported by the Association is designed to speed therapy development by attacking ALS on all fronts, from basic research to clinical trials; from bench to bedside. THE WORLD IS OUR LAB since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge