Motor neurone disease (MND) is the name given to a group of diseases in which the nerve cells (neurones) controlling the muscles that enable us to move, speak, breathe and swallow undergo degeneration and die.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in many parts of the world, and also as Lou Gehrig’s disease in the USA.

Motor function is controlled by the upper motor neurones in the brain that descend to the spinal cord; these neurones activate lower motor neurones. The lower motor neurones exit the spinal cord and directly activate muscles. With no nerves to activate them, muscles gradually weaken and waste. MND can affect a person’s ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe.

There are an estimated 450,000 people worldwide living with MND. Every 90 minutes, someone else is diagnosed. But most people with MND only live 2-5 years after their first signs of disease. In order to help those who already have the disease, there is no time to waste.

Currently, there is only a single medicine for specifically treating ALS – riluzole. And even this drug, marketed by Sanofi-Aventis under the name Rilutek, only extends survival about 2 to 3 months. So there is currently an urgent, unmet medical need for effective treatments for this devastating and fatal disease.