BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Press Release\nMedia Contact:\nMari Sullivan\, Public Relatio ns Manager\, ALS TDI\, 617-441-7220\, msullivan@als.net\nFor Immediate R elease\n \;\nALS TDI Tri-State Trek Celebrates 10th Anniversary\nThe annual three day\, 270 mile bike ride continues its commitment to fund research to end ALS\nCambridge\, MA &ndash\; April 23\, 2012 &ndash\; Th e ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) Tri-State Trek is celebrat ing its 10th anniversary this year. A three-day\, 270 mile bike ride fro m Boston to Greenwich\, CT\, the Trek raises money and awareness to end amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)\, better known as Lou Gehrig&rsquo\; s disease.\n&ldquo\;The ALS TDI Tri-State Trek is about riding for those who can&rsquo\;t\,&rdquo\; says David Virden\, a five-time cyclist in t he event and now the Tri-State Trek&rsquo\;s organizer. &ldquo\;Over the years this event has brought so many great people together &ndash\; fro m those who know someone with ALS or have lost someone to the disease to those who come to support the cause. Watching a loved one suffer throug h ALS leaves family and friends feeling helpless. Riders\, crew and supp orters of ALS TDI&rsquo\;s Tri-State Trek feel like they&rsquo\;re doing something that weekend. It&rsquo\;s an unbelievable feeling. We ride to support one another and raise money so that one day\, no one has to die from ALS.&rdquo\;\nThe 10th anniversary three-day Tri-State Trek will t ake place July 20-22\, 2012. It will start in Newton\, MA\, on Friday\, July 20\, and finish in Greenwich\, CT\, on Sunday\, July 22. The route passes through 52 communities and includes 12 rest stops\, two lunch sto ps and two overnight stays. Cyclists can ride all or part of the route a nd participate all three days\, one of the three days or any two-day com bination. In addition\, volunteers and crew are needed and encouraged to participate throughout the three days.\nSince 2003\, the Trek has grown from 16 cyclists to more than 260 riders in 2011. The event has raised more than $2.6 million for ALS TDI\, a nonprofit biotechnology institute in Cambridge\, MA\, dedicated to developing effective therapies as soon as possible for people with ALS today.\n&ldquo\;The 10th anniversary ri de is both a celebratory event and a sobering reminder of how devastatin g a disease ALS still is to people today\,&rdquo\; says Steve Perrin\, P h.D.\, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of ALS TDI and a cyclist in the Tri-State Trek. &ldquo\;We want to thank everyone who participates\, vol unteers\, donates and cheers during the Tri-State Trek. Everyone involve d in this event plays a crucial role in helping ALS TDI to advance poten tial treatments for ALS toward the clinic as quickly as possible for pat ients today.&rdquo\;\nFor more information on riding\, volunteering\, do nating or just coming out to cheer\, call 617-441-7200 or visit us onlin e at http://www.als.net/tst.\nAbout ALS\nAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS\, Lou Gehrig&rsquo\;s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative di sease that leads to paralysis\, due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cause\, cure or effective trea tment for the disease. About 5\,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year\; the incidence is similar to Multiple Sclerosis. However\ , with no effective treatment and an aggressive and rapid disease progre ssion\, the average patient survives only 2-5 years following their diag nosis. There are about 30\,000 US citizens diagnosed with the disease at any given time. The worldwide population of ALS patients is estimated a t 400\,000.\n \;\nAbout ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)\ nThe mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to de velop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral scler osis (ALS\, Lou Gehrig&rsquo\;s disease) as soon as possible for patient s today. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need\, ALS TDI exe cutes a robust target discovery program\, while simultaneously operating the world&rsquo\;s largest efforts to preclinically validate potential therapeutics\; including a pipeline of dozens of small molecules\, prote in biologics\, gene therapies and cell-based constructs. The world&rsquo \;s first nonprofit biotech institute\, ALS TDI has developed an industr ial-scale platform\, employs 30 professional scientists and evaluates do zens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients\, th e Cambridge\, Massachusetts based research institute collaborates with l eaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic devel opment\, including Biogen Idec\, UCB\, Aestus Therapeutics\, MDA and RGK Foundation. For more information\, please visit us online at www.als.ne t.\n \;\n# \; # \; # \; URL:http://westroxbury.patch.com/events/tri-state-trek-to-benefit-als-tdi -ead52832 SUMMARY:Tri-State Trek to benefit ALS TDI LOCATION:300 Technology Sq\, Cambridge\, MA 02139: 300 Technology Sq\, Ca mbridge\, MA END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR