Charity of the week: ALS Therapy Development Institute
ALSTDI is the world’s largest research center for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It tests dozens of potential therapies every year.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative ailment that attacks neurons in the brain and spinal cord and severely weakens muscles, including the diaphragm muscles that control breathing. It is invariably fatal and has no known cure. The sole approved therapy, the drug Rilutek, is only modestly effective. The ALS Therapy Development Institute (als.net) was founded in 1999 to develop therapies to slow and stop ALS. Located in Cambridge, Mass., the institute is the world’s largest ALS research center, with a unique, industrial-scale platform for testing dozens of potential therapies every year.
Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator ranks not-for-profit organizations on the effectiveness of their programs, their control of administrative and fund-raising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest ranking.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing