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Barrow Receives Generous $2.5M Gift to Launch ALS Expanded Access Program
Barrow Neurological Foundation is honored to announce that Autumn and Bobby Henderson have made a generous $2.5 million gift to launch the ALS Expanded Access Program in the Gregory W. Fulton ALS and Neuromuscular Disease Center at Barrow Neurological Institute. The new program will offer ALS patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials that test promising drugs for the disease.
“My childhood friend’s father was diagnosed with ALS in 2020. I had grown up with her family, so it was devastating watching him suffer through this terrible disease. I made this gift to honor my dear friend’s father and the work of Dr. Shafeeq Ladha, who provided him with exceptional care. My hope is that the Barrow ALS Expanded Access Program will help more ALS patients gain access to new therapies that they desperately need,” said Mrs. Henderson.
Autumn Henderson
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, robs patients of their ability to move, speak, maintain independence, and have control over their health. One way patients can regain that sense of control is by participating in clinical trials. However, traditional clinical trials have rigid participation criteria and less than 50% of ALS patients qualify. The Barrow ALS Expanded Access Program is designed to give these patients access to experimental therapies, even when they do not qualify for traditional clinical trials.
“The Barrow ALS Expanded Access Program will shift the paradigm for ALS clinical trial participation dramatically. Our goal is that in the next several years, every Arizonan with ALS will have the opportunity to gain access to an experimental medication. I am extremely grateful to the Hendersons for their support in launching this groundbreaking program,” said Shafeeq Ladha, MD, Ira A. and Mary Lou Fulton Chair in Motor Neuron Diseases and Director of the Gregory W. Fulton ALS and Neuromuscular Disease Center at Barrow.
The Barrow ALS Expanded Access Program has the potential to become a flagship platform for ALS expanded access by creating a sustainable infrastructure that has the resources and expertise to attract partnerships with pharmaceutical companies for the most promising drugs as they become available.
“Autumn and Bobby Henderson’s generous gift to launch the Barrow ALS Expanded Access Program will help make Barrow a national leader in clinical ALS research and the place where the next novel treatment will be discovered,” said Katie Cobb, President of Barrow Neurological Foundation. “Moreover, it will bring hope to patients and families who are living with this devastating disease and feel stuck in terms of accessing new therapies. We are honored by their support.”
The Gregory W. Fulton ALS and Neuromuscular Disease Center at Barrow Neurological Institute was founded to improve both care and research for ALS and other neuromuscular diseases. It is the national model for offering complete care within a single center while providing access to clinical trials and promising basic science research. The Fulton Center holds the distinction of being both an ALS Association and a Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Certified Treatment Center of Excellence.