Prize4Life

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Prize4Life is a non-profit organization that was established in 2006. Its primary goal is to accelerate the discovery of treatments and a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The organization uses a prize model to incentivize research and innovation in the ALS field.

History[edit | edit source]

Prize4Life was founded by Avichai Kremer, an ALS patient, and several of his classmates from Harvard Business School. The organization was inspired by the Ansari X Prize, which successfully encouraged advancements in private space travel. Prize4Life believes that a similar model can be applied to medical research to stimulate breakthroughs in ALS treatment and ultimately, a cure.

Prizes[edit | edit source]

Prize4Life has launched several prizes to encourage research into ALS. These include:

  • The $1M ALS Biomarker Prize, which was awarded in 2011 to Dr. Seward Rutkove for his development of a new way to measure the progression of ALS.
  • The Avi Kremer ALS Treatment Prize, which offers $1M for the development of a treatment that extends the lives of ALS patients by at least 25%.
  • The Assistive Technology Challenge, which seeks to improve the quality of life for ALS patients through the development of new assistive technologies.

Impact[edit | edit source]

Prize4Life has been successful in attracting new researchers to the field of ALS and stimulating innovative approaches to the disease. The organization's prize model has been recognized as a powerful tool for accelerating medical research and has been adopted by other organizations in the field.

See also[edit | edit source]

Prize4Life Resources

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD